Decision's Fate
by Lemonade Ninja
Summary: COMPLETE::Sequal to Hard Descisions. When Bella receives the news she's pregnant again, she couldn't be more happier. However, someone she hoped she would never see again comes back. ExB AxJ EmxR CxE R&R, please! ALL HUMAN
1. Prologue

**Disclaimer: I do not own Twilight. I just own this new plot line! Oh, and I also own Elizabeth.**

**Full Summary: **Bella's life is wonderful. She has a family who loves her, and whom she loves back just as much. When she recieves the news that she's pregnant again, she couldn't be happier. But before she gets the chance to tell Edward, someone she hoped she would never see again comes back. Will she be forced to tell her most best kept secret? And most importantly, will her and Edward's love for each other survive, or will they be torn apart from each other...forever? ALL HUMAN.

Prologue

I sat on the couch upstairs, looking at the picture of the whole family. The photo had been taken on the day of Edward's and mine wedding. We were all smiling widely and happily at the camera. Edward and I were in the middle, his arm wrapped around my waist, a huge grin on his face.

Emmett was next to Edward, his arm wrapped around Rosalie's waist. Rosalie had a face that was one of glowing pride – the two had been expecting their first child then. They now had a nine month old baby girl named Angie.

Alice was next to me, Jasper's arm around her shoulder. Both looked happy, and they were both grinning widely, an unusual thing for Jasper, who was calm-natured. Ever since he had graduated college, Jasper became a cook at the Italian restaurant in Forks, so that he wouldn't have to travel an hour each day to Port Angeles. Alice opened a clothing store, with some of the clothes she had made herself.

On the end was Esme and Carlisle, both with wide smiles on their faces, looking very happy. Carlisle's right arm was around Esme's waist, and in the other arm was my daughter, Elizabeth. Her head was leaning shyly on Carlisle's shoulder, a shy smile on her face. She looked like a younger version of me. She had my nose and ears, and she also had my eyes, though her chocolate brown eyes were rimmed with dull green.

On the other end, standing next to Rosalie, was Charlie, my father. He was awkwardly smiling at the camera – he had always hated to dress up, and I couldn't agree with him more. I always hated to dress up as well. Renee and Phil were standing next to Charlie, smiles on their faces as well.

Edward was in medical school, planning on becoming a doctor; Alice was now running a successful business; Jasper was a fabulous cook at the Italian restaurant, _Le Bella More_; Emmett and Rosalie were parents to an adorable baby girl, and they couldn't be happier; Carlisle was a successful doctor at Forks General Hospital; I owned a bookstore and lived above it with Edward and Elizabeth, and I loved it. And Esme, she loved us all, and she was happy that we had all found a place in life.

Life was good. But as I sat on the couch in my living room, a thought that had come to my mind a few years back as I was sitting in The Lodge with Alice and Edward, came to my mind again.

_How long would this happiness last?_

**Author's Note: **

**I'm back! Sorry about the delay in posting. I've been feeling creativity deprived. So how was that for the prologue? I hope it wasn't too boring - you don't know how many times I've rewritten the beginning. And - this is amazing - I actually spelled 'decisions' correctly this time! **

**So - what news did Bella receive? - Grins Evilly - he he. Anyway, review and tell me what you think of it and if I should continue it or not. I hope you liked it. Now I have to go and color 27 flags for Geography. I LOVE being homeschooled. **

**Until Next Time: NerdyGuRu2**


	2. Strange Happiness

**Disclaimer: **I do not own Twilight. I just own this plot, Abigail, Elizabeth, and _Wonderful Jounery's Bookstore_.

--

Chapter One: Strange Happiness

(BPOV)

I sat bolt upright, my breathing coming out in ragged breaths. My eyes were wide with fear, and I could feel my hands shaking.

A pair of strong, warm arms suddenly wrapped themselves around my waist, causing me to try to free myself. The arms tightened, and a voice whispered in my ear, "Bella. You're alright. It was just a dream."

That was when I realized that I was safe in my bedroom, next to the man I loved. I collapsed against Edward's chest, shaking and crying.

Edward tried to comfort me, and at last it did work. "Shh, shh, it's alright. You're safe. It was just a dream," he whispered into my hair. He kissed the top of my head and, after making sure that I was calmed down, let his arms drop to his sides.

I pulled myself back to the top of the bed, pulling my legs to my chest and burying my face against my knees, arms wrapped around my legs. I felt Edward put a comforting arm around me.

"What were you dreaming about?" he asked.

I took a deep breath and mumbled against my legs.

"What was that, dear?"

Sighing, I lifted my head and looked at him. "I was dreaming about that night. That night it happened. I don't know why I'm still dreaming about it, almost six years later."

I looked at the glowing red numbers of the digital clock on the bedside table. 4:04 a.m. it read.

I sighed again and said, "Sorry for waking you up this early."

Edward chuckled and said, "It's alright. Dreams don't necessarily care what time they force you to wake up at."

"Nightmare is more like it," I said. The mental images that were now in my mind were etched in there, and I shuddered, trying to get rid of them. "I can't get the night out of my mind."

Edward hugged me closer to him and said, "You don't have to worry about anything. James Andrew Stuartson will never come to hurt you again. If he does, I will personally punch him in the nose for doing that to you."

I giggled, though it was half-hearted. "Thanks, but I hope he never comes back. If he ever arrives, Lizzy will be sleeping in-between us for a very long time."

Edward laughed. "I'm sure she will be. I'll always be here to protect you from him." And with that, his lips came in contact with mine.

00

The door to the shop opened and the little bell above it tingled. Looking up, I saw Mike Newton walk into the shop. What was he doing in here? He had no use for books. He probably never read them anyway. I rolled my eyes and looked back down at the mail that I was sorting through.

He walked up to the desk. "Hey, Bella," he said. He put his arms up on the top of the counter and leaned against it, probably looking at me.

Without looking up, I said, "Hello, Mike. Anything I can help you with today?"

Mike smiled and nodded. "Listen, do you have any books on places where you can go for dinner? Like, places that are romantic?"

I looked up. "Why?" I asked flatly.

I was feeling unusually crabby, today of all days. When this particular day approached, I dreamed the same thing, like the dream I had woken up earlier, and I was always crabby. Whenever someone asked me why I looked so gloomy, I wouldn't answer them; I would get up and stalk out of the room. No one needed to know why I was so particularly crabby.

Mike looked a little surprised, but quickly shoved it off. The surprise was replaced with a nervous look. He looked at me nervously and asked, "Was it true that you were pregnant before we graduated high school?"

That was it. I took a deep breath and tried to control my anger, which was – for some reason – unusually worse than the other times."Yes, it is. Just answer my question," I said.

The door opened then and Esme walked in. Thank goodness, someone that I actually liked!

"Hey, Bella!" she said, walking up. She spotted Mike and added, "Hello, Mike."

"Mrs. Cullen," he said, before turning his head and looking at me again. "Do you?"

I sighed and pointed wordlessly to my right, in the direction where the restaurant guides were. He smiled and said thanks before walking away.

Esme smiled and came behind the counter, pulling up a chair. I suddenly had a moment of Déjà vu, remembering the time I had sat in the chair I was sitting in now. Abigail had pulled up a chair and sat beside me, telling me that she as well had sung a lullaby to her kids when they were babies.

"So, what's been happening lately?" she asked, hugging me.

I smiled as I hugged her back. "Oh, nothing really. I've been busy, but that's practically it.

Esme smiled warmly, just as Mike walked back over to the counter. I forced a smile onto my face. "Find what you were looking for?" I asked. I desperately wanted him out of there – there were days when I didn't want people who hung around Jessica Stanley, the town blabber mouth, around me, especially when I didn't feel like talking to anyone, not even my own husband.

Mike nodded and placed the book on the counter. I glanced at the title. "_Matherson's Guide to Romantic Restaurants_. Planning on taking Jess to a fancy place?" I asked, trying to hold back my laughter. Mike sure was one to make strong notions to the girls he loved.

He blushed and leaned in closer, after glancing around the shop to make sure no one else was there. Then he said, "I'm planning on proposing to Jessica tonight, and I wanted to do it in a nice place."

"Aw, that's sweet, Mike. Congratulations," Esme said, throwing a smile his way.

"Thanks. I love her, and we've been dating for a while now, and I figured that it was time. If this book sucks, do you two have any suggestions as to where I might take her?" he asked, fidgeting a little.

"There's this place in town," Esme said. "_La Bella More_. I know the cook that works there."

Mike raised his eyebrows and looked at Esme with suspicion in his eyes. "How come you know the cook there?"

Esme grinned. "It's Jasper, Mike. You know, the boy who lived under my roof for about seventeen years of his life?"

Mike laughed nervously, and said, "Thanks. See you around."

He was halfway to the door before I called after him, "Are you going to pay for the book or are you trying to win yourself a free trip to jail, because I personally know the chief. I can call him up and tell him to come over so he can arrest you. Are you going to pay for the book or not?"

My tone had an edge of sarcasm to it, and it didn't surprise me when Mike turned around and came quickly back, placing the book on the counter. I looked at the price tag on the back of the thick book. "That'll be 9.55, please."

Mike grumbled as he pulled a dollar from his pocket and then stuffed his hand back in to look for some more. "Why is it so expensive?"

I refrained from glaring at him. "They're the same prices as when Abigail owned the shop; I didn't change the prices."

He placed the rest of the money on the counter and I handed him the change. Then he decided to break through the very thin ice that he was already on by asking, "Is it true that your kid is Edward's?"

I saw Esme's smile drop immediately from her face. She glanced worriedly over at me.

It took all I had to not reach across the counter and slap Mike in the face. I glared at him and, through gritted teeth and forced kindness, said, "_Elizabeth_ is _not_ Edward's. I would appreciate it if you would not ask any question pertaining to or even suggesting my daughter. Now, if you'll excuse me…."

Even though I looked calm and composed on the outside, I was screaming on the inside, I got up from my seat and headed through the door and up the stairs to the apartment, where I slammed the door that led into the living room. Downstairs, I heard the shop door open and then close, indicating that Mike had gone.

Three seconds later, footsteps were on the stairs and I heard Esme knock softly on the door. I softly told her that she could come in, and the door opened. "Are you alright, dear? You got a little testy down there," she said, poking her head around the door tentatively before stepping into the living room.

I stood in the middle of my living room, looking at Esme, the woman who loved all her children and who was so kind and motherly toward everyone. I sighed and nodded, looking down at the floor, a blush creeping up into my face. "Yeah, I'm okay. I just get a little…testy on this…particular day, that's all."

Esme nodded, somehow knowing that I didn't want to talk about it.

I had always been uncomfortable whenever someone asked if Edward was Elizabeth's father. Of course he wasn't. But he was more like a father to her than what her real father would have been.

"Would you like some hot chocolate?" I asked, changing the subject.

"I would love some, but I have to get back home. I was just dropping off some of Edward's mail. He's still getting mail at the place he doesn't live anymore. I find it rather funny."

I chuckled, though only half-heartedly. I wasn't in the mood to laugh any longer. And all of a sudden, I found myself telling Esme, "I can't believe he had the nerve to ask that. It makes me want to throw something out the window."

Esme chuckled and came over to me, wrapping her arms around me. I hugged her back as she said, "Don't worry about it. I'm sure that he was just curious. You've a perfect right to feel the way that you're feeling right now. Now, I hope I'm not prying too much into this, but is there a reason why you're being this testy?"

I pointed wordlessly at the calendar on the wall next to the telephone, and Esme saw what I meant.

"Ah. This is the day you found out Abigail died, isn't it? That's why you were fighting off the urge to glare at Mike when he asked about the prices, wasn't it?" Esme asked in a gentle voice.

I nodded, still silent. "It's just that I miss her, that's all. She was a good friend. She was my grandmother's friend, and I found out when Elizabeth was born that she had been my godmother. Apparently Charlie asked her when I was born," I said quietly. "She would have loved Elizabeth."

"Speaking of, where is Elizabeth?" Esme asked. "I noticed that it was quiet up here."

"She's at her friend's house," I said.

"Ah. So, I'll see you, Edward, and Elizabeth tonight?" she asked, a gleam in her eye that no one could miss.

I nodded. Esme had insisted that every Friday night we all gather together at the mansion of a house the Cullen's called home. We had all agreed that it was a wonderful idea, and we had been doing so ever since for the past two and a half years. "Yeah, we'll be there."

"Good. Here's Edward's mail," Esme said, pulling two envelopes from the pocket of her pants and handing them to me. "You know, even though you look slightly irritated, there's this look about you. Like you're holding a secret that no one except you knows. Anything you know that we don't?" When she asked me this, I could see the curiousness and delight in her eyes.

I shook my head, curious as to why she was telling me this. As far as I knew, I didn't have _anything_ that no one but me knew about. Unless…. Oh, great, why did my _mother-in-law_ always have to point _these_ types of things out when even _I _don't know about them yet?

"No, nothing," I said slowly, looking at Esme.

Esme smiled and said, "See you three tonight."

I waved as she let herself out the door.

Once she was gone, I felt this strange, yet wonderful, feeling in my stomach. I placed a hand on my stomach and looked down at it. Was it true? Could I really be? A kind of strange happiness washed over me, and I felt a small smile come to my lips.

As I walked back downstairs a moment later, a smile was still on my face, and I couldn't wipe it off – I was too happy, and I hoped Edward would be happy as well. That was, if it did turn out to be true.

--

**Author's Note:**

**I am SO sorry for not updating sooner. I've been suffering from the chronic disease of 'Creativity Deprivation'. But, hopefully, it has gone away now. Plus, I've been busy with school and homework, and I have three projects that are due this week. Thankfully, one of them is already done. I hope nobody has given up in thinking that I'll update, which I am now going to do. **

**Next chapter will be up this week, don't worry. I hope this chapter wasn't too boring and pointless. Please, don't hesitate to tell me in your review if it stunk, or it was fine. On that subject, thanks to all who reviewed. To those who have reviewed but haven't recieved a reply, sorry about that - I did read your review. Until Next Time, NerdyGuRu2.**

Note - This story, there will be rotating POV's, so we'll get a look into the minds of other's besides Bella's.


	3. Vacation News

**Disclaimer: **I do not own Twilight. I just own Elizabeth, and I don't think Bella would be too happy if she knew that.

--

Chapter Two: Vacation News

(BPOV)

The feeling of elation that I felt for the rest of the afternoon was amazing. I couldn't believe it. Yet, I didn't know if it was true or not. I probably should find out if it was true that I actually was before I said anything to Edward, because if I told him that I supposedly was, and then we found out that I actually wasn't, I don't know what he – or I – would think.

But yet, I couldn't help but feel the feeling that something was happening inside me, and it was a good something.

A couple hours after Esme left, I was sitting in the back room at the computer, typing the new books into the system. Two large boxes had come in the morning before, and I hadn't had a chance to open them yet.

I wasn't even halfway through the first box of books when I caught sight of the picture that was sitting on my desk. I smiled and picked it up, gently running my fingers over the glass, looking at the faces gazing out at me.

The picture, only just recently taken, was of Renee and Phil, my stepfather. They were standing in front of their yellow house in sunny, warm Jacksonville, Florida. They had moved there a few years before, right after I had moved back to Forks, and both were quite happy where they were. Sure, they would probably have to move again, due to Phil's baseball training, but they liked it there in Jacksonville.

My smile faltered a bit as I remembered the time I had told them both that I was sending myself back to Forks. I had been eighteen then, and had no idea I would become a mother in less than eight and a half months. I remembered clearly that it had only been a day after what happened.

_I knocked on the doorframe to the kitchen, where Renee and Phil were seated at the table, looking through pictures of homes for sale in Florida. Taking a deep breath, I walked into the room and sat down across from them. _

"_Mom, Phil?" I asked. My voice appeared calm and collected, but on the inside, I was absolutely shaking with nervousness. I just wanted to get this over with so that I could escape to my room. _

_Renee and Phil looked up. _

"_Yes sweetheart?" Renee asked._

"_I need to tell you something. Now, I don't you guys to interrupt until I'm finished. I've made this decision completely on my own and I have thought it all through. I think that it would be best if I did this decision because all of a sudden…this place seems a little too…big," I said, trying to navigate my words into their minds so that they could get it into their mind what I was saying. _

_Renee and Phil looked at me with curiosity and suspicion in their faces. _

"_What is it, Bella?" Renee asked. _

_I took a deep breath and said, "I'm not moving with you to Jacksonville."_

_The two adults looked at each other with an expression of shock, and then looked back at me. Renee was the first one to get her voice back. _

"_And why not, Bella? You certainly can't stay here by yourself. You're only eighteen, and living in a city of this size…I don't think that it would be possible," she said, looking at me skeptically. "And besides," she added as an afterthought, "you don't have enough money to buy a place to live in, _and_ you can't technically move out until you go off to college."_

_I fought with all my strength not to roll my eyes. "Exactly, mom, I'm eighteen. You have no legal right over me. I can pretty much do anything I want now. I'm old enough to make my own decisions, and besides, I wouldn't be living here," I said. There was no way I would be coming back to this city _ever_ again._

"_Where would you go?" Phil asked. _

"_I'm sending myself back to Forks," I said simply and calmly, sitting back in my chair and folding my arms. _

_Renee looked at me, as if she was analyzing my face to make sure that I was completely serious and not playing some kind of joke on her and Phil. Finally, after a moment of silence, she sighed and leaned forward, putting her elbows on the table and resting her chin in her hands. "Are you sure you want to do this?" she asked. _

_I nodded without saying a word. "I need to get away from here. I've put up with it for the past eight years. I've saved up enough money from my job at the bookstore, so I can pay for the plane ticket. I can live with dad until I go to college. And I'm pretty sure that Charlie would be happy to help me transfer to the local high school so I can finish high school. I can still graduate, even if I transfer, and I can get my high school diploma. Please mom, I need to go back."_

_Renee looked at me for a full minute before saying, "If you're sure, then you have my permission to go back."_

_A smile broke out on my face and I got up from my chair and hugged Renee and Phil both. "Thank you! You don't know how much I need this." _Anything to get away from this place_, I thought._

_And with that, I walked out of the kitchen._

00

"Mommy! Mommy! Mommy!"

I jerked awake and sat up as I felt the weight of a small child almost jump onto me.

"Elizabeth, don't jump on your mother," came the voice of my angel.

"Yes, don't jump on mommy, Lizzy," I mumbled, rubbing my eyes and then pulling my over-hyper five year old onto my lap. She cuddled against me for a second before jumping off again and running over to Edward, who picked her up.

He came over and bent down to kiss me on the lips. "Hello. Have a nice nap?" he asked, amusement in his voice.

"I didn't realize that I had fallen asleep. One minute I was unpacking the box of books and the next moment, Lizzy is jumping onto me," I said, standing up and stretching. "Hey, what time is it?"

Edward checked his watch and said, "A little after five."

"I was asleep for two and a half hours?!" I asked, shocked I had slept that long. Had I really been that tired?

He nodded as Lizzy said from his arms, "You sleep, mommy!" She giggled.

I smiled and ruffled her brown hair. "Yes, I did."

Lizzy wiggled in Edward's arms, telling him that she wanted to get down. As soon as she was let down, she ran off, giggling. I looked up at my husband, my eyebrows raised in confusion. "Any reason she's so hyper this afternoon?"

He laughed and said, "Alex's mother told me, when I picked Lizzy up, that the two girls got into the pot of freshly made coffee and drank it all."

"She's going to be up for a while tonight," I said, wrapping my arms around Edward's waist and leaning my head against his chest. "How was your day out with Jasper and Emmett?" I asked as we headed upstairs to the apartment.

"Quite amusing is all I'm going to say," he said, a mischievous grin on his face.

"'Quite amusing' is very bad when Emmett and Jasper are involved," I said, rolling my eyes.

Forty-five minutes later, Edward, Elizabeth, and I walked through the drizzling rain and up the porch of the Cullen's massive house. Edward opened the door and walked through, Elizabeth and I following.

"Hello?" I called out.

Esme poked her head around the kitchen door frame and smiled. "Hello. Bella, do you mind coming in here a moment?"

As Edward walked into the living room where there were the sounds of X-box, I walked into the kitchen, following Elizabeth, who had run into the kitchen when she saw Esme. This was going to be a very long night until she finally conked out from all the activity.

"Hey, Esme. Hey, Alice," I said.

"Hey, Bella. Guess what!" Alice said when I was not even three feet into the kitchen.

"What?" I asked.

Alice looked like she was about to burst with excitement. "There's this sale going on down in Port Angeles on Sunday, and it is at the most awesome store in the whole mall! I've made a list of all the places that are having a sale, and then I narrowed it down to twenty stores minimum. So Sunday, Bella, we're going shopping!"

She pulled out a sheet of notebook paper, handed it to me, and then pulled Elizabeth, who seemed to have calmed down a bit, up onto her lap. My eyes grew wide as I read through the list. "_Only _twenty stores, Alice?! How many stores are on this piece of paper?"

Alice grinned innocently and said, "I can't help it. The stores I circled are the ones we're going to. Esme and Rosalie are coming as well."

I looked over at Esme, who was trying to contain her laughter. She only shook her head and said, "I think it would be a great idea." There was this excited gleam in her eyes, and I wondered what it possibly could be.

Rosalie walked in just then with Angie on her hip. "Hey, guys. Did you bring the list, Alice?"

Ever since she had graduated from high school, graduated from college, and then gotten married, she had become more pretty – if that was even possible. Even though she had given birth to her daughter nine months before, she still kept her figure, which I was amazed by. She had also become more kind towards me – especially when she found out I was pregnant with Elizabeth.

Alice nodded and I handed the piece of paper to Rosalie.

Delight shone in her eyes as she said, "These stores sound great!"

I rolled my eyes. "They're silly, aren't they?" I asked Lizzy, who grinned.

A little while later, after dinner, Esme brought out the desert she had made as a special treat for that night. Even though I wasn't big on desert, I have to admit the brownie and ice cream cake was _really_ good.

As we were finishing up desert, I saw Carlisle nod to Esme, who got up and disappeared for a moment before reappearing a moment later with several thin pieces of paper. Both Carlisle and Esme looked excited about something.

"Esme and I have something to share with all of you," Carlisle said, and everybody turned their attention toward Carlisle and Esme.

"We have decided that it's time for our next family vacation," Esme said.

"Alright!" Emmett said, and reached across the table to slap hands with Jasper, and then slapped hands with Edward.

I looked at Edward next to me and raised my eyebrows. He grinned innocently back at me.

"Now, hopefully, you three boys have grown out of your 'must play golf' stage, because we really don't want to have to almost get thrown out of the hotel like we did last time," Esme said, shooting a look at her three sons, who grinned innocently back at her.

"What happened last time?" I asked.

"When Emmett and Jasper were thirteen, they were obsessed with playing golf. They somehow managed to get Edward to go along with them in their plot to steal the hotel golf clubs and then hit golf balls across the hotel lobby. It was pretty funny," Alice said, grinning.

"It was a good thing that it was our last day there. That vacation was amusing," Rosalie said. Alice giggled.

"We promise we're out of that phase. Where are we going this time?" Emmett asked.

Carlisle passed the pieces of paper around, giving one to Jasper, Alice, Emmett, Rosalie, Edward, and I, and keeping one each for Esme and himself.

I turned mine over and saw that it was a plane ticket. A plane ticket to….

"Phoenix, Arizona?!" Alice squealed. "I've always wanted to shop there!"

Carlisle and Esme nodded as Esme said, "We'll be staying at the Hilton Garden Inn, which is minutes from downtown Phoenix, and about 15 minutes from the amusement park/water park."

"Awesome!" said Emmett, Edward, and Jasper said at the same time.

"When are we going?" Alice asked, already beginning to bounce up and down in her seat.

"Next Friday," Esme said.

I sat back, forcing myself to look excited, listening to the family talk about the vacation. Phoenix, Arizona. The city I had sworn to myself I would never go back to. But I had to. I needed to go back. Maybe it would help me finally get over what happened in that very city almost six year earlier.

But, after all, I couldn't miss out on the first ever vacation that I would be taking with my family, could I?

--

**Author's Note:**

**Here's yet another chapter. Hope you all liked. Hmmm, what's going to happen on this vacation they're taking? How will Bella react to being back in Phoenix, Arizona, the place that she swore she would never go back to? You'll have to wait and see. And don't worry, the action is coming. And when it comes, be warned, because it will bring pretty hard times for Bella. - Grins Evily - Oh, and sorry about the lack of appearences for the characters. I'm setting the stage here; they will be appearing more. **

**Remember to review on your way out! Next Chapter should be out soon. Until Next Time: NerdyGuRu2 **


	4. Gift of Life

**Disclaimer: I do not own Twilight. All I own is Elizabeth and **_**Wonderful Journey's Bookstore**_**.**

--

Chapter Three: Gift of Life

(EPOV)

"…'and they lived happily ever after. The end'," I said, closing the book.

"What happens when princes and princesses get married, daddy?" asked the sweet voice of Elizabeth. She was curled up against my side while I read books to her.

I smiled down at her. Apart from Bella, Elizabeth was my favorite person in the world. She was really shy and quiet, just like Bella, and she had the sweetest chocolate brown eyes. She had the eyes of her mother, yet they were rimmed with a dull green. I assumed that the green was from her father. Her _real_ father.

"Well, they live happily ever after, just like the book says," I said.

Elizabeth looked up at me. "Why do people live happily ever after?"

I ruffled her hair. "When two people fall in love, and if they realize that their love for each other is a true and deep love, often they want to get married. And when they do, they live happily ever after."

Elizabeth continued to look at me.

"Eh," I said, scratching the back of my neck. "Why don't you ask your mother that? She would probably be able to explain it better."

"Okay," she said. She hopped off the couch and ran over to the kitchen, where Bella was making lunch. She pulled on Bella's shirt and said, "Mommy?"

Bella looked away from the grilled cheese sandwiches that were cooking on the stove and looked down at her daughter. "Yes sweetheart?"

"Why do people live happily ever after?" Elizabeth asked in her sweet little voice.

Bella glanced over at me with a questioning glance. I smiled back at her and she answered Elizabeth, "Um, well, I believe it's because when one finds her one true love – or, shall we say, someone you're destined to be with for the rest of your life – they know that that person is the right one for them. They fall in love, and sometimes, that love is so great, nothing can break their love apart. Does that answer your question?"

Lizzy studied her mother for a moment, as if she was in deep thought. Then she nodded and skipped back over to me, Bella following. Bella sat down next to me and wrapped an arm around my shoulder as Elizabeth hopped back up onto the couch with another book in her hands.

"Read this one, daddy," she said, pushing the book towards me.

I laughed. She was such an enthusiast when it came to reading, it was cute. It was when I was opening the book that I smelt something burning. "Bella? Is there something burning?" I asked, looked over at Bella.

She looked at me, confused for a moment, and then sat up straight when she realized that the sandwich she had been cooking was now burning in the pan. "Oh, no!" she exclaimed, and then got off the couch and ran over to the stove. She turned the burner off and grabbed the spatula from the counter and peeled the sandwich from the smoking pan and onto a plate.

"Does anyone want a burnt sandwich?" she called over her shoulder as she waved the smoke away from the pan.

I laughed and said, "I'll take it. Burnt grilled cheese sandwiches are awesome."

00

(BPOV)

Monday morning, I was sitting at the desk downstairs. The radio was on, playing soft classical music. All was quiet, between customers at the moment, until Alice came bounding through the door, making me almost jump out of my skin.

"Ah! Alice, don't scare me like that," I said, placing a hand to my chest.

Alice giggled and said, "Sorry. I'm really excited!"

"Why would that be? I mean, is there another sale somewhere that you already haven't been to in Hoquiam or whatever, even though you dragged me around the mall in Port Angeles for hours yesterday?" I said, feeling slightly crabby for no reason at all.

Alice raised her eyebrows, but kept her smile. "Why, aren't we grumpy this morning. No, there's no sale. I just wanted to show you something." She came around the counter and pulled a chair up next to me, and then placed a piece of paper on to the desk top in front of me.

I tilted my head to the side as I looked at it. "What's this?"

Alice grinned and said, "This was the only picture that I could find right now, but this is a side view of the amusement park that we're going to."

"Oh, now I see it," I said, squinting a little.

"Isn't it awesome looking?" Alice squealed, too jazzed up over a picture. She took more pictures out of her purse and handed them to me. "Those are pictures of the hotel that we're staying at."

"Cool," I said. "Looks like a nice place."

"I know, doesn't it?" Alice said. "I mean, it has a pool! Hotels that have pools are awesome!"

"That's really fascinating," I said, rolling my eyes. "What hotel doesn't have a pool, Alice? It's like the essential for a hotel."

Alice shrugged, still smiling. She tilted her head and looked at me for a moment, before saying, "There's this look about you. I can't quite place my finger on it, but you have this…glow to your skin. Are you using butter oil or something? I hear it's really good for your skin. Unless…." She trailed off and then her smile turned into a grin as something suddenly clicked in her mind.

"What?" I asked, a blush creeping up into my face.

My best friend looked at me, a look of excitement, joy and happiness on her face. "Are you..?"

My blush got even deeper as I shoved the pictures back toward Alice. "What are you talking about?" I asked, even though I was pretty sure I knew what she was talking about.

"Are you…pregnant?" Alice squeaked, her voice high with excitement.

A nervous smile played at my lips as I began looking through the mail that I had already looked through, just so I could occupy myself with something. "Okay, how fast did we switch from the topic of the hotel to this subject?" I asked.

"You are, aren't you?" Alice asked.

I looked at her and she had a massive excited grin on her face. "I…I'm not sure. I'm scared to tell Edward, because if we find out that we're actually _not_…" – I lowered my voice down, as Edward was upstairs and I didn't exactly want to risk it – "…pregnant, I don't know exactly what he – or even me, for that matter – would think."

"Do you want to find out?" Alice asked, an excited gleam in her eyes that had been there when I had found out I was pregnant with Elizabeth.

"Uh, well…kind of, but…." I didn't get a chance to finish my sentence because Alice was pulling me up the stairs to the apartment. "Alice, what are you doing?"

Alice went through the door and into the living room, where Edward was playing video games with Emmett. Elizabeth was watching them with interested eyes. Sometimes, one would think Edward, Emmett, and Jasper had rubbed off on Elizabeth.

"I'm going to need to borrow Bella for like a couple hours. Do you mind?" Alice asked.

"I don't mind. Just be sure to bring her back in one piece, though," Edward answered.

I glared at him as Alice clapped her hands, waved good-bye, and then pulled me out the door again and downstairs. "Alice, slow down."

Three minutes later, Alice was driving down the road, me asking where we were going. "We're going to find out if you're actually pregnant or not."

My mouth dropped open. "Alice, where are you taking me?"

Alice only grinned and said, "Nope. I'm keeping my lips sealed. You'll just have to wait and see."

A moment later, we passed the local drugstore, and then it clicked. "Alice. You're not taking me to the hospital to get checked are you? Because if you are, I seriously _am_ going to kill you," I said. If she did drag me to the hospital, or more specifically Carlisle, she really was going to die.

Sure enough, a few minutes later, Alice pulled her yellow Porsche into the hospital parking lot.

"You do know that it's rude to just barge into the hospital demanding to find out if you're pregnant or not _without_ making an appointment first," I said.

Alice looked at me and rolled her eyes, smiling. "Nonsense, I'm sure Carlisle won't mind."

My eyes widened. "Carlisle?! You're dragging me to see Carlisle? Alice, I can't have my _father_-in-law tell me if I'm pregnant. It would be really awkward."

Alice giggled and, pulling the car into a parking space said, "Oh, Bella. You were dating Edward when you gave birth to Elizabeth. What difference does it make?"

I took a deep breath and said, "Fine. But if this turns out to be a false alarm, you are _never_ coming over again."

Ten minutes later, Alice knocked on Carlisle's office door, and a voice called from within, "Come in."

Alice opened the door and bounced in, me following reluctantly behind. "Hi, dad."

Carlisle looked up from some papers as we entered and smiled. "Hello, girls, what can I do for you today?" Carlisle asked in his British accent. He gestured for us to sit down in the two chairs that were in front of his desk and we obliged. "One of you looks really excited, and one of you looks resigned."

"Alice, since you so fully decided to drag me here, why don't you tell him, since this was your great idea," I said, my voice dripping with sarcastic cheerfulness. "And before she says anything, know that this was _not_ my idea." Carlisle raised his eyebrows in question, but remained silent all the same, waiting for Alice to speak.

"Bella thinks she's pregnant," Alice said, a huge smile growing rapidly on her face. Meanwhile, a blush was heading towards maximum red by the time she hit the word 'pregnant'. "She wants to find out if she actually is before she says anything to Edward."

Carlisle looked towards me, a huge smile lighting his features. "Really?" he asked.

I nodded slowly, my blush becoming even more – if it was possible – pronounced.

Carlisle's smile became more pronounced and he said, "Well, I would be happy to run some tests for you, if you would like, make sure everything is true, and all that."

Alice squealed next to me, and eagerly nodded her head. I couldn't help but chuckle nervously. Just then, I got a case of Déjà vu. It was _almost_ like the time when I found out I was pregnant with Elizabeth. Though, last time, Alice had made me make an appointment with Carlisle, instead of us just barging into his office.

Carlisle chuckled and led Alice and I to a private room down the hall. He handed me a small container, which made my blush go up even higher. Five minutes later, I walked back out of the bathroom and handed it to Carlisle. Telling us to wait for him back in his office, he left the room.

"You know, if this turns out to be real, it would be so exciting! Then you could tell Edward when we're on vacation. Wouldn't that be romantic?" Alice asked, skipping alongside me as we neared Carlisle's office. I rolled my eyes.

Twenty-five minutes later, Carlisle walked into the room, a folder that looked curiously like it was mine tucked under his arm. Once again, the phrase 'Your fate lies within that man's hands' ran through my mind, just as it had done the last time.

Carlisle sat down behind his desk and said, "I have the results, and –"

"And?" Alice interrupted, unable to stop herself.

Carlisle chuckled and, with a massive grin on his face, said, "Congratulations, Bella, you are definitely pregnant!"

Alice squealed with excitement and shrieked, "I knew it! I knew it! I knew it!"

Meanwhile, I sat there in my chair, staring at the edge of the desk, a slight smile on my face. I was actually pregnant. This was actually real. This was actually going to happen. I was having a baby. Edward and I were going to have a baby!

"I'm really pregnant," I whispered, the smile on my face growing.

"How far along?" asked Alice. I gently kicked her in the leg with my foot, but she didn't seem to notice. My face was heating up more intensely, and I briefly wondered if one's face could blow up from the amount of blushing they did.

Carlisle smiled. "You're three weeks and two days along, and your estimated due date is March 6 of next year." He handed me some pamphlets and a bottle of vitamins and then a piece of paper with a list of foods that I could and couldn't eat.

Five minutes later, Carlisle walked us to the door. Alice bounced excitedly through it, and I was about to follow her – though I wasn't bouncing, just happy – when Carlisle stopped me and then pulled me in for a hug.

He pulled back a moment later, a huge grin on his face. "Congratulations, Bella. This is great news. Esme has been looking like she knows something for the past few days, but she hasn't said anything."

I smiled slightly and looked down at my feet, my cheeks heating up again. "Yeah, she was the one who sort of pointed it out to me."

Carlisle chuckled and said, "She's always had a knack for things like that. My congratulations go to Edward, as well."

"Thanks, I will. See you later, Carlisle," I said, waving and walking out of the office.

After making an appointment with Carlisle, like he had said for me to do, I walked out of the hospital with Alice, who was bouncing with every step she took. A huge grin was still on her face, and it wasn't until we were at her car that she absolutely exploded from her pent up excitement.

"This is _so_ exciting, Bella! You're going to have another baby!" she squealed, hugging the life out of me.

As Alice started the Porsche and backed out, I was in a daze. I couldn't believe it. Edward and I were having a baby. I couldn't help but feel the feeling of elation and happiness that I was feeling at that moment. I was having a baby!

Still in a daze, I said, "I'm having a baby."

The rest of the way home, I had a smile on my face. This truly was the gift of life.

--

**Author's Note: **

**The end of yet another chapter. I hope you all liked. The chapter ran longer than I thought it would, but I hope it isn't **_**too **_**long, though I hope that it makes up for the short chapter last time. Next chapter should be up sometime soon. I don't know when; even though I have April Vacation this week, I have to work on the joint newscast that my mom is making me and my friend do, and I have a report to do on Jacques-Yves Coustaeu (I hate spelling his name!). But don't worry, the next chapter should be up soon, probably within the next week or so. **

**Read and Review please! Until Next Time, G'night: NerdyGuRu2**


	5. Roller Coasters

**Disclaimer: I do not own Twilight.**

--

Chapter Four: Roller Coasters

(BPOV)

For some reason, I couldn't bring myself to get enough courage to tell Edward that he was going to be a father. I knew I was being silly in assuming that he would freak out, like he did last time, but I couldn't help it. How would I know how he would react to this kind of news?

I resorted to the plan of telling him during the vacation. Alice was sort of right; it would be kind of romantic to tell him during vacation. Yeah, maybe I would be able to get away with keeping it from him until we got to Phoenix. That was if Alice managed to keep her lips sealed and not tell anybody.

But, the truth was…I didn't know how long _I_ could manage to keep my secret. _Our _secret.

On Thursday, I still hadn't told him. I kept putting it off by helping Edward to pack for the vacation that we were leaving for the next afternoon.

After I put Elizabeth to bed, I curled up next to Edward on the couch as we watched a movie. We both enjoyed the time we had for ourselves after Lizzy went to bed, when everything was quiet.

"That is so sad," I said, gesturing towards the TV screen, where Jack and Rose wee running through the crowds of people to get to the top of the boat, trying to survive.

"How is it sad?" queried Edward.

I looked up at him. "Because they're all going to die, that's why."

He bit his lip to hold back a laugh as he said, "Honey, everybody dies eventually."

I gaped at him, horrified at what he had just said. Unbidden tears started welling up in my eyes. "That's terrible! Half the people on that ship were way too young to die!" I said. "They didn't deserve to die. They just wanted to go back to America to be with their families. To receive the news that their loved ones died in the m-m-middle of the ocean just because of some stupid iceberg, that…that's t-terrible." I was getting embarrassingly too worked up about this. It was just a movie for gosh sakes.

He couldn't hold it in any longer; he burst out laughing, and it took him a few minutes to get his breath back. When he managed to control his laughter, he said, "I'm sorry. I just found it really funny that you got really worked up about a simple thing in a movie."

I glared at him. "That's exactly it. Children were on that ship, Edward. They _died_! Babies died. They didn't get a chance to see the world, or f-fall in lo-love, or g-get married, or have any kids. Everybody should get a chance to live. That's what living's all about right? Being born, getting a chance to grow up, and have a _life_!"

Edward lost all look of amusement on his face and wrapped an arm around my shoulder. "Bella, it's all right. They didn't _really_ die. In the movie, they're just wax figures. Either that or they're _really_ good actors."

I glared at him as I wiped at my eyes with my hand. "But they're going to die _someday_."

Edward chuckled and settled back into the couch, pulling me along with him. I lay snuggled up against his chest, over my mood swing and prepared for the rest of the sad parts of _Titanic_.

As we were lying in bed that night, a sudden thought came to me. Edward's and mine wedding anniversary was coming up in just a few short days. In fact, it was next Friday, the last day we would be in Phoenix before we left to come back on Saturday.

And then an idea came to me. I could tell Edward we were going to have a baby on our wedding anniversary – August 3. I grinned to myself as I snuggled against Edward's chest, his arms wrapped around me. It would be the perfect gift.

"Mommy?"

I turned around and opened one of my eyes. Elizabeth was beside the bed, poking me. "What is it, sweetie?" My hand fumbled for the alarm clock and I pressed the snooze button, illuminating the numbers. 10:53 p.m.

"I had a bad dream," she mumbled. She was clutching her teddy bear – the teddy bear that had no stuffing in it that she had had ever since she was born that she had gotten from Emmett – to her chest, looking scared. "Could I come up with you and daddy?"

I smiled and said, "Alright. Come on up." Lizzy grinned as I pulled her up onto the bed.

"What did you dream about, Lizzy?" Edward asked as she snuggled herself underneath the blanket. "Was it the one about the monster chasing you?"

Elizabeth looked up at him and said, "No. Something with an evil laugh was chasing me down a dark alley." She snuggled herself into Edward's side.

"It's alright. It was just a nightmare," I said, ruffling her hair, forcing a smile into my face. I could feel Edward's gaze upon me, a gaze I didn't want to meet.

I couldn't shake off the stabbing pain of the memory that had taken place six years earlier. I just wanted it to go away, but yet it wouldn't, or couldn't. I held Elizabeth close as she fell asleep between us, protected in the arms of her parents.

00

"Bella!" came the voice of an overly exited Alice. An overly excited Alice came through the door, nearly making me drop my bowl of cereal in the process as my hand flew to my chest.

.

"Geez, Alice, _please_ don't scare me like that," I said as my heart slowed.

Jasper came in after Alice and shut the door behind him. He had an amused and somewhat scared look in his face. "Hey, Bella."

"Hello, Jasper. What's this?" I asked as Alice bounded over to me and handed me a piece of paper. It had a picture of a scary looking roller coaster on it. Edward looked over my shoulder and a look of excitement spread across his face.

Alice grinned. "_This_ is one of the greatest roller coasters in the amusement park we'll be going to. We are so going to have to ride it before we come back home."

I felt my stomach drop beneath me. "What?" I asked, horrified.

"I tried to un-convince her about riding that roller coaster, but it didn't work," Jasper said. "Now I'm deathly afraid of what will happen."

"Oh come on! Roller coasters are _fun_!" Alice said. "You are so going to ride on it with me."

Jasper got a horrified look on his face as well and said, "Bella, do you happen to have any books on how to escape your girlfriend from making you ride roller coasters? Or perhaps a book on how to _not_ die while riding a roller coaster?"

I gave a nervous laugh and said, "I think so. They're downstairs probably."

I grabbed my bowl of cereal and made my quick escape down to the bookshop. Once down there, I went over to the section where the '…for Dummies' book series were kept. Abigail always kept this series on hand for anyone who needed help with something.

I walked back through the living room door a couple minutes later and handed the book over to Jasper, who looked dumbfounded.

"You actually had it? I thought you were joking!" he said, taking the book.

I shrugged, taking a bite of my cereal. "We do. Abigail basically had every book known to man."

"What's a roller coaster?" Elizabeth asked from where she sat at the table, eating a piece of toast.

Alice grinned and said, "It's this _amazing _ride at an amusement park. It goes up and down and rolls over, and goes around in circles and sends these amazing thrills down your spine! It makes you feel like you're going to fall out, though you don't exactly fall out. You'll see what I mean once you've ridden on it."

Elizabeth looked at me, fear evident in her eyes. "I don't want to fall out, mommy."

"You won't, because you're going to be staying with me _on the ground_," I said. I looked straight at Alice as I said the last three words of my sentence, emphasizing them.

"Oh come on. Don't you want to experience the _thrill_ of riding a roller coaster?" Alice asked.

Jasper and Edward snickered as I proceeded to glare at Alice.

"You have the perfect right to ride the roller coaster _without_ me. You're welcome to drag Edward along though," I said.

Edward stopped snickering immediately and a look of horror filled his face. "Oh, no. No, no, no, no, no, no. There is _no_ way that I am going to ride that machine without Bella. Please don't make me ride that thing! I beg you, Alice, I _beg _you!" He got down on his knees in front of Alice and clasped his hands together, pleading to Alice to have mercy on him.

Jasper burst out laughing as Alice patted him lightly on the head and said, "No chance, brother."

Edward turned to me for help, but I shook my head, smiling.

00

When we met up with everyone at the airport, Alice pulled me aside as we waited in the airport waiting area.

"So, have you told him yet?" she asked.

"Shh," I said, putting a finger to my lips and looking around. I wasn't ready for anyone to find out about it just yet. I wanted Edward to know before we told anyone else. Okay, so Carlisle and Alice knew, but still.

"Well, have you?" Alice asked with an excited gleam in her eye that told me that she was dying to know Edward's reaction.

I shook my head. "He doesn't know yet. I've decided that I am going to tell him while we are on this trip. And I know exactly _when_ I'm going to tell him, too."

Alice clapped her hands and squealed with excitement. "Really?! When are you going to tell him?"

I rolled my eyes and shot her a look, telling her to calm down. "You know what day falls on the last day that we're going to be in Arizona?"

Alice mentally ran over the dates in her mind and then a grin appeared on her face. "That's August 3, isn't it?" I nodded. "Your wedding anniversary? You're going to tell him on your wedding anniversary? Oh, Bella, that is _so_ romantic! I told you that you would tell him on the vacation."

I nodded, sighing. "I just hope he'll be happy. Who knows what he'll think. You haven't told Jasper about it right? I don't exactly want anyone else to know, until I tell Edward at least. If you tell anyone about this little 'miracle of life' before we tell them…."

Alice grinned, remembering the last time she had spilled the 'big and exciting news'. "Jasper doesn't know. I haven't told him. I've been _dying _to, though."

I sighed. "Just promise you won't tell anyone. You and Carlisle are the only ones that know right now, and I sort of want to keep it that way."

Alice grinned again and said, "Will do."

Just then, a voice overhead said, "_Flight 214 to Seattle, Washington is now boarding in Terminal 3._"

Two flights and two rounds of dizziness later, we landed in Phoenix, Arizona.

As we were walking through the corridor behind everyone else, Edward asked me, "Are you alright, Bella? You look slightly sick."

I smiled at him and said, "I'm perfectly alright, Edward. The plane just made me a little light headed, that's all. I'm fine."

Edward was still unconvinced, though. "Are you sure, because…."

I cut him off by linking my arm through his and resting my head on his shoulder as we walked along. "I'm fine," I said, added light sternness to my voice to convince him. I had always hated it when he was filled with unnecessary concern for me.

Edward wrapped an arm around my shoulder and kissed the top of my head. "Alright, if you insist."

"Are we riding on anymore planes today, mommy?"

I looked down and saw Elizabeth looking up at me as we walked. I smiled at her as I brushed a piece of her brown hair away from her eyes. "Nope, we don't. Welcome to Phoenix, Arizona, Lizzy."

--

**Author's Note:**

**I'm back. Sorry about the delay - I've been busy with school and such. I hope you all liked the chapter. So, Bella's emotions are finally beginning to get to a heightened level. But I must say, I did almost cry at the end of **_**Titanic**_**, so I do have to say that it is sad. Anyway. So we're at the vacation part! I've been getting a few reviews telling me that Carlisle and Esme wouldn't make Bella go back because of what happened. But, the truth is, Carlisle and Esme, even though they do know what happened to her, they don't know **_**where**_** it happened to her. For all they know, it could have happened in Port Angeles. The point is, **_**they don't know where it happened**_**. I just wanted to clear that up.**

**Next chapter should be up soon, I don't know when, though. Remember to review on your way out, please! Until Next Time, NerdyGuRu2 **


	6. Sunset Paintings

**Disclaimer: I do not own Twilight. All I own is Elizabeth, **_**Wonderful Journey's Bookstore**_**, and the future of Bella and Edward and Elizabeth's lives. Hehe.**

**Author's Note: I know I haven't been answering your reviews, but please know that I do read your reviews. From now on, I'm going to be replying to reviews **_**only**_** if someone asks me a direct question. I still read your reviews, and they keep me writing - I GREATLY appreciate it. **

**On with the chapter! Enjoy!**

--

Chapter Five: Sunset Paintings

(EPOV)

"Gosh, Bella, this place is beautiful. Will you just _look _at the sunset?" I asked. I was so enthralled at the beauty of the sun that was setting over the hot looking sand, that I knew I was probably embarrassing Bella.

Bella appeared next to me in our bedroom, looking out of the window with me. I turned to her to see her smile softly – yet sadly – at the sunset outside our window. I saw tears begin to form in her soft, chocolate brown eyes.

"Hey, what's wrong?" I asked.

Bella shook her head and looked up at me, smiling softly. "It's nothing. The sunset's really beautiful."

I smiled and drew her close to me.

She laughed a little at something and said, "Once, a few years ago, when I was six months pregnant with Elizabeth, I was looking out of my bedroom window and thinking of the beautiful sunsets they have here in Phoenix. I remember that I was thinking of how I wished I could have shared those sunsets with you."

I looked down at her and she looked up at me.

"You wished that?" I asked. She nodded and I grinned. "Well, now you can. And we can share it with our daughter as well."

As if I had announced her name, Elizabeth came running into the room and jumped up onto the bed and started to jump on it.

"Hey, Lizzy, no jumping on the bed," Bella asked. Lizzy jumped off the bed and ran over to her mother. Bella picked her up and placed her on her hip. "Look at the sunset, Elizabeth, isn't it amazing?" she asked, whispering into her hair. "Doesn't it remind you of a painting of a sunset, Lizzy?"

Elizabeth nodded.

"Before you were born, I used to sit at my bedroom window and wish you could see a Phoenix sunset, Elizabeth. And there it is; over the horizon," Bella said.

We had only been in Phoenix for an hour and a half, but I could tell that it was going to be an amazing trip.

00

After meeting up with the rest of the family for supper, the three of us went back up to our room.

Elizabeth was sitting next to me on the couch, curled up with her un-stuffed teddy bear that Emmett had given her before she was born. She looked so innocent and peaceful, her soft, brown hair falling over her eyes. Her chest was rising up and down gently; she was sleeping, tired after a day of flying.

I gently brushed her hair out of her eyes and looked over at Bella, who was sitting in the chair, reading her very tattered, old copy of _Wuthering Heights_. She was sleeping as well. I smiled. She looked so peaceful, curled up into a ball on the chair, her hair pulled back into a ponytail with a few strands of hair framing her face. There was a light smile on her face, like she was dreaming of something nice.

I looked back down at Elizabeth, watching her sleep.

"No, don't."

I looked back up at Bella. Her smile had turned into a frown, and her breathing was not as peaceful as before. Worry began to settle into me. I slowly got up and gently laid Elizabeth's head down on the pillow I had been leaning on.

Leaning down in front of Bella, I brushed some of her hair that had fallen in her face.

She whimpered softly in her sleep and whispered, "No, please, don't."

"Bella?" I asked softly.

"No, please, don't," she repeated. A look of terror crossed her face, and I rubbed her arm gently with my hand. "Don't hurt me, please."

And then her eyes flew open, wide and full of fear. She back up farther into the seat, her knees being pulled closer to her chest. Her arms were wrapped protectively around her stomach, tears beginning to fall down her cheeks.

"Bella?" I asked again, softly.

Bella looked toward me and the tears began to fall down faster. "Oh, Edward," she whispered.

I gathered her in my arms and switched places with her, me sitting on the chair and her sitting on my lap. She buried her face in my shoulder, arms wrapped around me, crying. I wrapped my arms around her. "It's alright, Bella, you're safe. It was just a dream," I whispered into her hair, trying to calm her.

We sat like this for a few minutes, until Bella finally managed to calm down enough for me to ask her what she had been dreaming about.

"It started out nice, but then it turned horrible," she said, moving her head so she was facing Elizabeth, who still slept peacefully on the couch, unaware of the goings on. "I was walking down an alley way again, and then he grabbed me from behind. Oh, Edward, it was so awful. It was like I was living the whole thing over again, and this time, it was more real."

Her small frame was shaking, and I held her closer to my chest.

I knew what she was talking about. She was talking about that night, that night about six years or so ago. I knew that it still haunted her in her dreams, forcing her to relive it. It pained me to see her suffer like that. No one should have to go through with what she did when she was only eighteen.

It was several minutes before Bella completely calmed down. Her breathing slowed and became deeper and calmer. I looked down at her. She was asleep once again.

"I love you, Edward," she said in her sleep.

Smiling, I kissed her on the top of her head. "I love you, too, Bella," I whispered into her hair.

00

(BPOV)

When I woke, I was laying on the bed in the bedroom. I was curled up next to Edward with my arm across his chest. His arm was wrapped around my shoulder, and he was snoring slightly. I raised my head and saw that his mouth was slightly open. Over him, I could see the clock on the bedside table. It read 7:55 a.m.

Grinning, I slipped out of his embrace and off the bed. I grabbed the digital camera from my old duffle bag and snapped a picture, making sure that the flash was on.

He shot up, a surprised look on his face. I quickly snapped another picture of him, giggling – the look on his face was so funny. He glared good-naturedly at me when he realized I had just taken a picture of him. Then he got an evil grin on his face and I shrieked and ran out of the room, holding the camera protectively to my chest.

Edward chased me around the table in the kitchenette area, trying to get the camera. I was laughing now, and he was chuckling evilly.

After about a moment or so, he captured me and began tickling me. We fell to the floor, both laughing, Edward tickling me in the ribs. Tears from my laughter rolled down my cheeks.

"Edward…stop…please," I managed to say between my laughs. "I surrender! I surrender! Stop tickling me!"

Edward grinned and stopped tickling me. "Thank you. Now where's that camera so I can delete those pictures?"

I smiled and pointed to the table where I had managed to place it before I fell to the ground. "Up there, but you have to promise me that you won't erase it. I want to show it to Alice."

He grabbed the camera and went through the pictures searching for the two I had taken. His head cocked to the side as he looked at them. "You're not going to use this as blackmail are you? These pictures are embarrassing to look at, Bella."

I grinned evilly at the thought. Now that you mention it... it _could_ be used as blackmail in the future. "Now that you mention it, I think it could be used as blackmail."

His eyes narrowed. "You wouldn't dare."

"Oh, I so would," I said. "Alice can help me cook up something."

He glared playfully and said, "If you use that as blackmail, then I am going to physically haul you on to that roller coaster."

My stomach twisted uncomfortably into knots. I shook my head furiously, my mood suddenly not so cheerful anymore. "There is no way I am going to get on that roller coaster, and there is no way you are going to force me," I snapped.

With that I stalked out of the room to get ready for breakfast, leaving Edward behind, looking dumfounded.

As I was getting a pair of clean clothes, I felt a pair of arms wrap around me and a voice whisper in my ear, "I'm sorry."

I turned around to look Edward in the eyes. "I know. I shouldn't have snapped," I said.

Edward smiled. "It's alright. But _please, please, please_ tell me that you won't use it for blackmail?" He looked into my eyes, pleading with his. They looked so cute and innocent and dazzling that I almost forgot to breathe.

I sighed. "Don't do that, Edward. You know I hate it when you do that to me."

Edward grinned. "Do what, my dear?"

I rolled my eyes and grabbed my clothes and headed into the bathroom. "You know perfectly well what I mean, Edward. Stop dazzling people. You're going to kill someone one day with your breathless beauty."

"You think I'm 'breathlessly beautiful', eh?" Edward asked, grinning.

I rolled my eyes again, glaring at him. My mood was shifting yet again to moody, and I knew that I couldn't help it. It was just one of the joy rides that came with pregnancy. Thank goodness I hadn't started morning sickness yet.

We met up with the others fifteen minutes later for breakfast.

"Hey, what was that noise we heard about eight this morning coming from your room?" Alice asked as Edward and I sat down at the table, Elizabeth sitting between us. "It sounded like someone was dying from laughter."

Crud, I had forgotten that our room was next to Alice and Jasper's room. I glowered at Edward as I said, "Well, _someone_ was tickling me to death."

Alice raised her eyebrows in amusement as Emmett and Jasper burst out laughing. "And why was he tickling you to death?" she asked, highly amused.

I clicked through the pictures on the digital camera before I came to the correct one and then I handed it to her. "I snapped a couple pictures of him sleeping, and tickled me, trying to get the pictures."

Alice grinned. "That is one awesome picture of you sleeping, Edward."

Edward's face turned red, and he tried to swipe the camera away from Alice, but to no avail – Alice was quicker and handed it to Jasper, who burst out laughing.

"I have to agree with Alice, Edward. That is an _awesome_ picture of you sleeping," he said and passed the camera over to Emmett, who burst out laughing as well.

"When you're all done laughing at me, I would like to have the camera so I can burn the pictures before it can be used as blackmail," Edward said as he swiped the camera away from Emmett.

I grabbed my camera from him and hit him in the arm with the back of my hand. "You are _not_ going to burn my camera, Edward."

"Alright, alright, alright," he said. "I promise I won't burn the camera."

I smiled and kissed him on the cheek, suddenly happy again. "Thanks, Edward."

He just looked at me, dumbfounded by my sudden mood change.

--

**Author's Note:**

**Here's yet another chapter. Sorry for the wait. I've been busy with homework, and my mom gave us an assignment for geography about Australian animals. I have got to say that most of those animals are the cutest things alive. I've also haven't been feeling that great because of my stomach, and I still don't feel that great, and I haven't exactly been sleeping very well - it seems like every other night I am awake until after 2 a.m. **

**I'm really sorry if the last chapter was boring. I promise that the story will get better as it goes along. It's just setting the stage, letting people know what's going on in the lives of the Cullen's. So please, bear with me here. The next chapter should be up soon, hopefully. Sorry if this chapter was a bit short, but I thought the first part of the chapter was cute. Oh, and I want to forwarn you: The vacation in Phoenix will probably only last like two or three more chapters.**

**Remember to review on your way out. They are GREATLY appreciated. Now I need to post this and then get started on pasting every picture of the australian animals onto the posterboard before I fall asleep - I am SO tired. Until Next Time, Adios, NerdyGuRu2**


	7. Awkward Conversations

**Disclaimer: **I do not own Twilight.

**Author's Note: Explanation for my absence down at the bottom. Enjoy!**

**Author's Note 2: First off, I would like to thank everyone who reviewed! 19 reviews! I am so happy! Now on with the chapter!**

--

Chapter Six: Awkward Conversations

(BPOV)

_Knock, knock! Knock, knock!_

Before I even had a chance to get to the door, Elizabeth bounded from the couch where she was sitting with Edward and I over to the door saying, "I got it! I got it!"

"Elizabeth, what have I told you about opening doors when you don't know who is behind them?" I asked, going over to stand behind her. Alice and Jasper were standing in the hallway in front of our hotel room door, amused grins on their faces.

Elizabeth lifted her head upward and looked at me, a cute and innocent grin on her face. "Not to open the door without Mommy or Daddy since it might be someone I don't know, and it's not safe."

I smiled down at her and brushed her brown hair away from her eyes. "Exactly," I said.

Alice and Jasper laughed. "Don't worry, Lizzy. It's just us," Jasper said as I stood aside to let them in.

"Esme and Rosalie are downstairs in the lobby waiting for us. Are you ready to go?" asked Alice, an exited gleam in her eye that no one could miss.

"I guess. Okay, come on, let's go, Lizzy," I said.

"Where are we going?" Lizzy asked, looking up at me.

Alice answered for me. "We, Lizzy, are going to go around to the most awesome stores in Phoenix, and SHOP!" she said, leaning down so she could be level with Lizzy. "It's going to be _so_ much fun."

Elizabeth looked up at me, a look on her face that clearly said, 'Do we have to?' I laughed and nodded my head.

Just then, a pair of arms wrapped around my waist, making me jump with a start. I whipped around to see Edward standing there, my favorite crooked smile on his face. "Geez, Edward, don't do that!" I said, putting a hand to my chest to slow my speeding heart.

"Sorry," he said, the smile that was on his face making me not able to breathe for a second.

I sighed, looked away and said, "Come on, Lizzy, let's go before Aunt Alice jumps through the roof and sky rockets through the air out of excitement."

Alice only grinned at me and said, "What? It's only once in a life-time that you get to shop in Phoenix, Arizona."

"Don't they have awesome stores here, Bella?" Jasper asked as he stood next to Edward.

I nodded. "They do. I've only been to a couple stores though," I said, shrugging.

Alice looked at me, shocked. "What? You lived here for almost nine years and you've only been to a _couple_ stores in the entirety of Phoenix, Arizona? Are you insane?"

I tilted my head at her, my ponytail going around to the front of my shoulders as I glared at her. "I always have never been one for shopping. And besides, I spent all my time in the library reading or in the bookshop where I worked."

"No wonder you were still as pale as you were when you came back to Forks," Jasper said. Beside him, Alice nodded in agreement.

I rolled my eyes and started out the door, Jasper and Edward chuckling behind us.

00

We had been walking around Phoenix for two hours, and already Rosalie and Alice had two bags each that were stuffed with clothes. Esme currently had one bag so far, and I had decided that I was going to stop at one. Even Elizabeth had a shirt that Alice had picked out for her that even she admitted that she liked. My feet were killing me, and I couldn't wait to get back to the hotel and take a nice long nap before supper.

"Okay, you guys seriously need to take therapy for the amount of clothes that you buy, because this is just way too much," I said after we walked out of the sixth store where Rosalie and Alice had acquired their third bag.

Alice and Rosalie laughed. "We don't buy _that_ much clothes. I mean, we've bought more than this before."

I raised my eyebrows, but said nothing.

"How about we stop for some lunch?" Esme suggested. Alice and Rosalie agreed and I couldn't agree more with them at the prospect of sitting down and resting my sore feet. I swear I was going to have blisters tonight.

"Okay. Bella, know any good places around here that have food?" Alice asked.

"Uh, well, there's this great sandwich place that Renee and I used to go to on Thanksgiving every year. They have all types of sandwiches there, and they are really good," I said. "It's about two blocks away from where we are."

"Sounds good," Esme said.

The shop looked just like it did when I had last seen it. There were still the same pictures on the wall in old-fashioned frames, and the stools at the counter were just as I remembered.

We ordered our lunch and went to sit in a booth in one of the far corners of the shop.

"Wow, it's hot out," Alice said, taking a napkin and fanning herself with it. I as well took a napkin and folded it into a fan, nodding in agreement. "Especially when you walk around Phoenix all day."

"Bella? Alice? Rosalie?"

We looked up to see Jessica Stanley and Mike Newton entering the shop. They had noticed us and were coming over to our table.

"Oh, hey, Mike, Jessica," Esme said.

"What a weird coincidence that we would bump into each other in Phoenix, Arizona. Really, of all the places to bump into each other!" Jessica said. "So what brings you all here?"

Alice put on one of her cheery smiles and said, "Vacation with the family. What brings _you_ guys here?"

Mike wrapped an arm around Jessica's waist and grinned as Jessica, who was grinning as well, said, "We're getting married! We came here to celebrate."

"Wow, congratulations, you two. That's really exciting news," Rosalie said. She had never really liked Jessica and Mike, and neither did Alice. I especially did not like Mike; he had always tried to ask me out, and he was constantly trying to flirt with me, which annoyed Edward and I to no end.

"Thanks!" Jessica squealed. "We're really excited!" Then she noticed Elizabeth, who was sitting next to me. "Hello there. Who's that?" she asked.

I felt Elizabeth hide herself in my side with her arms wrapped around my right arm. I looked down at her and saw her peering shyly and nervously up at Mike and Jessica. "She's my daughter," I said, fighting to keep my head from blowing up.

"Oh," Jessica said. "Isn't she the one you got pregnant with in…?" She trailed off by the looks of Rosalie, Alice and Esme.

Rosalie and Alice's facial expressions lost all traces of calm and composed smiles and were replaced by glares. Esme scowled slightly at them and I looked down at the table top. I hated being reminded of who Elizabeth's father was, especially now since I was in the place where it had happened.

"We'll see you around," Mike said hastily. Sensing the awkward mood in the air, he pulled Jessica out of the sandwich shop.

Things were silent for a moment before Rosalie said, "Well, that was interesting."

Thankfully our sandwiches were done then, and I went up to get them, grateful for the escape from the concerned eyes of Alice.

00

It was quarter to three in the afternoon when we got back to the hotel.

My feet were killing me, and I was to just sit down and relax. We had promised the boys that we would meet them down by the indoor pool at three, so we decided to go up to our rooms and meet back down in the lobby in ten minutes.

Before Lizzy and I walked out the hotel room door, I grabbed a towel for Lizzy and my tattered old copy of _Wuthering Heights_. Edward didn't understand why I bothered to keep it, since it was so tattered, but I liked it – it was the very first classic I had gotten when I was nine.

"Where's your bathing suit?" Alice asked as she walked toward me, Rosalie following closely behind; Elizabeth and I had been the first ones down in the lobby. She looked gorgeous in a two piece navy blue bathing suit that contrasted nicely with her skin. Behind her, Rosalie looked equally gorgeous in her blood red two piece bathing suit.

I looked down at what I was wearing, which was a dark blue T-shirt and a pair of jean shorts. "What's wrong with what I'm wearing?" I asked.

Alice shook her head in defeat as Esme walked into the lobby. "Ready?" she asked. She as well was wearing a bathing suit, though it was a blue one piece.

"Well, at least Elizabeth is wearing a bathing suit. Good for you, Lizzy," Alice said, holding her hand out for Elizabeth to slap it. Lizzy looked up at me and then slapped Alice's hand. I laughed. "She's at least going to be joining Rosalie, the boys, and I."

It was pretty nice, sitting by the pool with Elizabeth, watching the people in the pool.

At the moment, we had the whole indoor pool to ourselves, which was amazing. They were playing water volleyball with an invisible net, each couple paired into teams: Esme and Carlisle, Emmett and Rosalie, Alice and Jasper, and then Edward, who was referee. He had tried to convince me to come join them, but I was adamant about joining; who knew what could happen in the water, with a klutz like me, especially playing water volleyball.

I looked over at Elizabeth. She was curled up in the chair next to me, a towel wrapped around her. Her hair – wet from playing the pool – was hanging around one of her small shoulders. I smiled. She was tired out from the day of walking around Phoenix. She was my angel, and I loved her so much.

My hand drifted down to the stomach, another smile growing on my face. A baby was growing inside me. The baby that was Edward's and mine.

I still needed to tell him. But how to tell him? Just hand him a pregnancy book, like I had last time? No. Besides, I didn't even have a pregnancy book with me. Well, I did still have two more days to figure out a way to tell him.

I watched as the ball flew through the air, only to be hit by Emmett, who was hitting it back to Jasper. I smiled. I loved my family so much. Even though they were a little crazy at times, they were also very caring once you looked past the craziness and once you got to know them.

At the moment, life was peaceful, nice. But why did I get the feeling that this peaceful – yet crazy – life, the life that was so happy, was not going to last…very long?

--

**Author's Note: **

**Hello, again. Sorry for the delay. I've been busy with school, and I had decided to not update until I finished my book that I had to read for school. Thankfully, I finished the book on Sunday, and I wrote the book report yesterday, so I am completely - almost - done with reading for the year. Hallelujiah. **

**Anyway, I hope everyone enjoyed the chapter. I know that it wasn't very long, but I'm **_**really**_** trying to write longer chapters. I promise that, once we get to the climax part of the story (which will be very soon, I promise), we will have longer chapters. I only have a few weeks of school left, so I promise that I will be able to write a lot more often after the end of school. **

**Another reason for my absence, I've had a bit of writers block. And - stupid me - didn't save my story, so the entire conversation between Alice, Rosalie, Bella, Esme, Mike and Jessica was completely lost when my dad turned the computer off, so I had to redo it. **

**The next chapter: The Amusement Park Chapter! And - just to warn you - there **_**might**_** be someone appearing in the next chapter. - wiggles eyebrows mysteriously and giggles evilly - The next chapter should be up within the week or so. I think I will be updating once a week, maybe even two. And I will stick to that promise! **

**To end a rather long and rambling Author's Note, I'll see you next time! Until Next Time, NerdyGuRu2 (**_**P.S. - Remember to review! I still read them!**_**) **


	8. Shocking Surprises

**Disclaimer: **I do not own Twilight.

**Author's Note: In case you are wondering - this rather long chapter was to make up for my delay in posting the last chapter. I hope you like it! **

--

Chapter Seven: Shocking Surprise

(EPOV)

"No, please. Please don't hurt me!"

My eyes slowly opened. The glowing alarm clock read 6:45 a.m.

"Please don't." It was Bella. She was dreaming again. At times, I had often wondered why these dreams bothered her so much in her sleep, even after six years. At times, I wondered _what_ made her wake up, crying out in fear.

"Bella?" I propped myself up on my elbow and shook Bella's shoulder softly. She was curled up in a tiny ball, and a look of sheer horror was across her face. "Bella, wake up. You're having a nightmare."

Bella's eyes flew open. When she realized that it had only been me who had shaken her shoulder, she breathed a sigh of relief and sat up. "Sorry for waking you," she said quietly.

I smiled softly, my forehead still creased slightly with worry. "I don't mind, dear. Was it that dream again?" She nodded. "Don't you think that you wouldn't have those same dreams again, now that almost six years have passed?"

She looked at me. "It's not something one forgets easily, Edward," she said softly. "I thought that, since I'm back in the place where it happened, that I would be able to get past it and it would suppress my dreams, but..."

"But?" I asked, silently prompting her to continue.

"It seems as if that it's making the dreams more vivid – more vivid than before. Same dream as before: I'm walking down an alley, I get pulled into a building," Bella said, staring at a random spot on the bed. She looked like she was concentrating on something very hard, like she was focusing on something nonexistent. In fact, there was a slight grimace on her face.

"Bella? You alright?" I asked, concerned etching my face.

Bella shook her head, groaned, and bolted out of bed and ran towards the bathroom that adjoined to the bedroom. The door closed shut with a sharp snap behind her.

I got off the bed after her and knocked on the bathroom door. There were sounds of throwing up coming from inside, and that made me increasingly more worried. "Bella?"

"M'alright," I heard her mumble before she threw up again.

I twisted the doorknob and, thankfully, it wasn't locked. Bella was leaned over the toilet with her hands clutching the sides of the bowl as she threw up. I went over to her and held her hair back for her.

When she was finished a moment later, I pulled her away from the toilet and leaned against the back of the bathtub. She leaned her cheek against my chest and I rubbed her back in circular motions, hoping that it would help.

"Feeling better?" I asked, looking down at her.

"A bit," she whispered, unable to speak louder than above a whisper, I thought.

I gently leaned her against the bathtub and got up from the floor. I went over to the sink and searched through the toiletry bag that we had packed and looked through it for a thermometer. I had no idea if we had even brought a thermometer, but, since Bella had been the one who had packed it, who knew what was in there.

"Did you pack a thermometer?" I asked, turning around to face her. She was still leaning against the bathtub on the floor, her knees pulled up to her chest with her arms wrapped around her stomach. Her face was paler than usual, and there was a sheen of sweat on her forehead.

Bella gave me a questioning look, shook her head, and then groaned. She went for the toilet again and I followed her, holding her hair back once again.

As she pulled back a moment later, I placed a hand to her forehead to see if she had a fever. To my surprise, she didn't. "Are you sure you're alright, Bella?" I asked as she leaned against my chest again, my hand rubbing her back soothingly. She shrugged her shoulders silently.

We sat like this for a several moments. After the third wave of nausea passed, I helped Bella off the bathroom floor. Then she started pushing me out the bathroom door saying, "Out."

I turned to look at her. "Why?"

"I'm going to take a shower," she said.

"But what if you fall - or get hurt - while you're in the shower?" I asked.

She rolled her eyes. "Edward, I promise that I won't fall or get hurt. Now, if you're a good little boy and don't worry about me while I'm in the shower, then I promise that I'll be all yours tonight. Just you and me; I can get Alice and Jasper to watch Elizabeth."

I grinned; I had almost forgotten that today was our wedding anniversary. "I like the sound of that."

"Good. Now out," she said, pushing me out of the bathroom and closing the door.

00

(BPOV)

Just as we were about to head down to breakfast, Edward asked, "Are you sure you're up to walking around the amusement park today? We're going to be walking around in the hot sun all day."

I raised my eyebrows at him. I knew he was referring to the little - for the lack of a better way to put it - _conversation_ I had with the toilet this morning for about twenty minutes. "I'll be fine, Edward."

"Are you sure your stomach is up to riding on the roller coaster?" he asked, raising his eyebrows in amusement.

My stomach turned and I fought to keep down the remains - which wasn't much - of my stomach. I weakly smiled at him and went out the door, Elizabeth and Edward following me. As I was walking out into the hallway, Alice and Jasper walked out of their room.

"Hey, guys! Isn't it just a wonderful morning today?" asked Alice, a huge grin on her face.

"What's with the huge grin on your face?" Edward asked as he closed the door behind him.

Alice only grinned at him and said, "Oh, nothing." She then grinned at me and pulled me and Elizabeth along the hallway, leaving the two boys with amused expressions.

When we were far enough down the hallway, I asked, "Okay, Alice, what's with the huge grin on your face?"

Alice wiggled her eyebrows at me and asked, "Has he still not figured it out?"

I shook my head. "He's still absolutely clueless. I was puking my guts out for about twenty minutes this morning, and he still never figured it out." Alice laughed just as something popped into my brain. I stopped right then and grabbed Alice's arm, making her stop in front of the elevator. "Oh my gosh, Alice! I'm going to have to tell him!"

Alice laughed as she pressed the button to open the doors. "Yes, you'll have to tell him, Bella. You might want to."

I groaned and followed Alice into the elevator. Elizabeth looked up at me and asked, "Tell daddy what, mommy?"

I smiled down at her. "It's nothing, sweetie. It's just something important that I have to tell him, that's all. You'll find out soon, hopefully." _If I don't chicken out and run away and not tell him_.

00

When we arrived at the amusement park, we all agreed to go off in couples - Esme and Carlisle; Rosalie, Emmett, and Angie; Jasper and Alice; Edward, Elizabeth and I - and then meet up again at noon for lunch, go off for another hour and then meet back up again at the roller coaster - which was the ride Alice was so enthusiastically forcing us to go on.

Jasper and Alice were already at the lunch area where we agreed to meet when Edward, Elizabeth, and I arrived there. Alice spotted us and waved us over excitedly with her hand.

"Hey guys!" she said. "Isn't this place _awesome_?"

"Yes, it is," Edward said as we sat down.

"I can't believe that you never came here, Bella," Alice said. "They have awesome rides here." Beside her, Jasper snickered, although he looked slightly green.

I shrugged. "There was an end of the year school field trip back at the end of my freshman year of high school. I was going to go, but I caught a cold from one of the kids in my English class and Renee made me stay home. Alright there, Jasper?"

Jasper nodded and took a sip of water. "Yeah. You guys never went on the Tilt-A-Whirl, did you?" Edward and I shook out heads. "It was a little too fast and tilting for my taste. Alice enjoyed it though."

I snickered and said, "I'll take note of that: don't go on the Tilt-A-Whirl."

"That ride sounds like fun!" Edward said. "We should go on it, Bella."

I turned my head to look at him. "You can go on it, but I'd rather not have a rendition of this morning. My stomach has never been one for fast rides. That Tea Cup ride was enough for my stomach to barely handle anyways."

Jasper raised his eyebrows and Alice grinned, but neither said anything.

Carlisle and Esme arrived then and sat down as well.

"Everybody having fun?" Carlisle asked. "I have to admit. I have never been to an amusement park in my entire life, but I have got to say that this place is probably the best place in the world."

Alice, Edward, and Elizabeth nodded in agreement.

"I wonder where Emmett, Rosalie, and Angie are," Esme said.

"We passed them on our way here," Edward said. "It looked like Emmett was inside the bumper car place while Rose stood outside, shouting something to him."

Emmett walked up behind Jasper just then. He had a massive grin on his face while Rosalie, who stood next to him holding Angie on her hip, had a non-impressed/annoyed look on hers. "That was flippin' awesome!" he said as he sat down.

"What was awesome?" Jasper queried.

Emmett grinned again and launched into very fine detail about his adventure with the bumper cars. By the time he was done, we were all - with the exception of Rosalie, who was still scowling, and Jasper and Edward, who were laughing hysterically - staring at him with open mouths.

It was a moment before we found our voices again.

"So, let me get this straight. You were in the bumper cars, and this guy kept hitting you with his car. You retaliate by bumping him back and then you both get into a full-on race around the entire arena? And then you got kicked out when you ran into the wall, nearly destroying the bumper car?" Alice asked.

"Yes!" Emmett said, an enthusiastic grin on his face.

Esme, Rosalie, Alice, and I rolled our eyes and simultaneously said, "Emmett will always be Emmett."

00

"Come on you guys! I heard that the roller coaster is always the best when you get the front seat!" Alice said, bouncing up and down with every step she took as she pulled us toward the roller coaster.

I looked up at the roller coaster and felt my stomach turn slightly. The roller coaster looked like it was just waiting to hurtle you towards your death.

"Okay, that right there," Emmett said, pointing at the roller coaster, "looks awesome!"

"I think someone should stay down here on the ground with the kids," Rosalie said. "I highly doubt that they would be allowed on the roller coaster, seeing as they are both under the age of ten, and both of them are way under the height limit."

"I fully agree with Rosalie, and I will eagerly volunteer to do so," I said.

"I'm with Bella," Jasper said, gulping as he stared at the roller coaster in horror.

Alice gave us both an incredulous look and asked, "Oh, come on, you guys. You're not afraid of a simple roller coaster, are you?"

I stared at her and said, "Alice, I love you like a sister, I really do. But I'd rather not die by doing flips in the air on a roller coaster. And that roller coaster is not simple!"

"No, it isn't, but it sure is awesome looking!" Emmett said. Beside him, Edward nodded enthusiastically.

As Rosalie handed over to me the stroller that Angie was nestled into, sleeping, I said, "You guys are just crazy."

(JPOV)

"Uncle Jasper?"

I looked down to my left. Elizabeth was sitting in between Bella and I on the bench, and she was looking up at me, her ever reigning curiosity once again shining in her eyes. "Yes, Lizzy?"

"Why are all those people screaming?" She pointed to the roller coaster, which was currently doing a full circle before heading up again.

I looked over at Bella. She was leaning forward with her elbows resting on her knees. Her forehead was pressed against her palms, and she looked like she was concentrating on something. "Uh, well..." I struggled for an answer and then chose one randomly. "They're screaming because they're enjoying the ride."

"Oh."

From her seat in the stroller, Angie, who had just awoken from her nap, started whimpering. I leaned forward and picked her up, bouncing her slightly on my knee.

Her cry grew louder, and I looked over at Bella, asking, "Do you know why she's crying?" I, personally, had no knowledge of why babies cried after they woke up.

"She's probably just hungry. There's probably a bottle in the diaper bag," she said, still looking down at the ground. Sure enough, Angie settled down as soon as she was sucking on the baby bottle cap.

Bella took a deep breath and sat back on the bench.

"Are you alright?" I asked, noticing her paler than normal complexion of her face.

She nodded and said, "I'll be fine. Hopefully." I raised my eyebrows, but said nothing.

And then it started to piece together. Her being all moody at times; Alice being all giggly and having a huge grin on her face the past two weeks; her having this smile that lit up her face with a glow, like when she was pregnant with Elizabeth; Carlisle having this excited, knowing look in his eye; her eagerly voting to stay on the ground with the kids. And now, her having a paler than normal complexion today.

An excited grin came to my face. It all fit into place perfectly. Bella was pregnant; she was going to have a baby!

"So, how long have you known?" I asked, trying to keep it casual.

She turned her head to look at me, a surprised look on her face. "What are you talking about?"

Another grin came to my face. "Well, you being moody; eagerly voting to stay on the ground with the kids; your now paler than normal complexion. It all fits together, Bella. And besides, Alice has had a massive, excited grin on her face the past two weeks. So how long have you known?"

She sighed and said, "A couple weeks. How long have _you _known?"

"I just figured it out. It's plainly obvious. Has Edward figured it out yet?" I asked.

She shook her head. "He's completely oblivious to the fact. I'm planning on tell..." Bella cut off with a gasp as a man walked up to us.

He looked to be in his mid- to late thirties. His dull green eyes held curiosity and eagerness as he looked between Bella and Elizabeth. As soon as Bella looked into his face, fear filled her eyes and she wrapped an arm protectively around Elizabeth, who had snuggled herself into Bella's side, cowering back from the man, her own eyes filling with recognition and fear.

I raised my eyebrows in question and asked, "May we help you with something?"

"I was just walking past and I couldn't help but notice the little girl," he said, his eyes never leaving Elizabeth. Elizabeth's bottom lip quivered a bit. "How old is she?" He obviously meant Elizabeth.

It seemed almost as if Bella couldn't speak. She was biting her lip, and her face had gone a bit paler. She was staring at the man, her eyes shining with fear.

"Uh, she's five, almost six," I said.

"What's her name?" he asked casually. Curiosity was clearly evident in his voice, but I could detect a bit of eagerness in his voice. He was asking Bella this time.

"E-Elizabeth," Bella said quickly. She was still looking at him in fear. What was wrong with her? It was just a random guy who just wanted to know the name and age of the little girl sitting between us.

Her face was still pale - even paler now - and she looked a little sick.

The man smiled down at Elizabeth, who cowered even farther back into Bella's side, her bottom lip now quivering fully. "Well, it was nice to meet you. You have such a beautiful little girl," he said to Bella, who only nodded, now not able to say anything. With those words, he walked away, but not before giving Bella a smile - an almost sickening smile.

(BPOV)

As the man walked away, I tried to fight down the nausea that was quickly creeping up onto me. I knew that I wouldn't be able to hold it down any longer. I turned my head to look for a bathroom and - thankfully - there was a bathroom five feet from where we were sitting.

Four seconds after the man was out of earshot, Jasper - who had been watching the man walk away - turned to me and asked, "Bella? Are you alright?"

I quickly shook my head, knowing that I was going to lose it, and went for the bathroom. There was no one in there, thankfully. I managed to shut and lock the stall door behind me before I fell to my knees in front of the toilet.

When I emerged a few moments later, I shakily walked over to the line of sinks and splashed cool water on my face. After, I looked into the mirror at my pale, dripping wet face.

I grabbed a couple paper towels and dried my face off, but it only got wet again when the tears came and flooded down my face.

(APOV)

"Where's Bella?" I asked as I approached Jasper. He was sitting on the bench directly across from the roller coaster ride with Elizabeth. Angie was sleeping peacefully in her stroller.

He jerked her thumb toward the bathroom and said, "She's been in there for the past few minutes." He looked kind of worried.

"Why?" asked Edward.

"I'll go check on her," I said, and headed to the bathroom.

When I walked into the bathroom, Bella was standing in front of a sink. She looked pale and her hands were shaking as she reached up to wipe away the tears that were streaming down her face.

"Bella?" I asked, walking up to her and placing my hand on her shoulder.

She didn't answer.

"What's wrong?" I asked gently. "Did something happen?"

"I have to tell him, Alice. Before everything gets worse than it already is," she answered. Her voice was shaking. With her hand shaking, she reached up and pulled loose her ponytail. Her brown hair fell down and she ran a hand through her hair.

I put my hand on the side of her cheek and turned to face so she was looking at me. Tears were shining in her eyes and her cheeks were tear-stained. "Before what gets worse? What happened?"

A fresh wave of tears cascaded down her face as she whispered, "He's back. Oh, god, Alice. He's back."

"Who-" I broke myself off. "No. No, he can't be."

Bella nodded. She wrapped her arms protectively around her stomach, whispering, "He's back."

--

**Author's Note: **

**Cliffhanger no? So, who do you think that man was? Why was he so interested in Elizabeth and Bella? You're gunna have to review if you want to find out! Next Chapter: The chapter I'm sure you've all been waiting for! Bella finally tells Edward! This should be interesting and fun to write! Remember to review! Until Next Time: NerdyGuRu2**

**--**

_**NEXT CHAPTER:**_

"Edward, I have something to tell you," she said.

"What is it?"

"Edward, I'm...I'm pregnant."


	9. Happy Anniversary

**Disclaimer: **I do not own Twilight. I just own Elizabeth, Edward and Bella's future baby, and the Cullen's future (Muahahhah!).

**Author's Note: **So here is yet another chapter of Decision's Fate. I hope you enjoy! It's the chapter that I'm sure everybody has been waiting for: Bella tells Edward!!

--

Chapter Eight: Happy Anniversary!

(EPOV)

"What are they doing in there?" I asked Jasper, pacing anxiously back and forth in front of the bench. I was about two minutes from barging into the bathroom to see if she was alright; it had been five minutes since Alice had gone into the bathroom looking for Bella, and I was beginning to get anxious.

Jasper sighed. "Edward, my brother, I beg of you to calm down. She probably just got motion sick from watching the roller coaster twirl around. You know how weak of a stomach she has with those things. Please sit down."

I sighed and went over to the bench. "What if she's really sick? She wasn't exactly feeling too great this morning."

Rolling his eyes, Jasper said, "She's fine. Stop worrying."

"So what happened?" I asked.

"Uh, I don't know exactly. She looked really pale; I asked if she was alright and she just shook her head no and then took off for the bathroom," Jasper answered. "Maybe it really was the roller coaster."

Frustrated, I sighed and asked, "She could be in serious trouble and we don't know about it."

"She's fine! If she was in serious trouble, don't you think Alice would have come out in a great hurry and tell us?" Jasper asked, throwing a pointed look in my direction.

I thought about that for a moment and said, "I suppose. But that doesn't make me any less worried about her."

Jasper just snickered and shook his head, an amused smile on his face.

Alice and Bella came out of the bathroom just then and walked over to us. Bella looked a little pale and she was looking down at the ground as she walked. Alice had a look on her face that she couldn't decipher, though I could tell that she was worried about Bella.

"Bella, are you alright?" I asked as Jasper and I stood up as they approached.

She nodded silently. "I'm fine," she said quietly, still looking at the ground. Her voice sounded shaky. She looked up and, upon realizing that it was just Jasper and I, got a panicked look in her eye and asked, "Where is everyone? Where's Elizabeth?"

"She went back with everyone else. They're heading back to the hotel," Jasper answered.

Bella visibly relaxed as she said, "Oh."

"Come on, let's head back," Alice said.

As we walked, I wrapped my arm around Bella's shoulders and she leaned her head against my shoulder.

(BPOV)

"Lizzy, hold still," I said as I attempted to brush my five year old daughter's hair.

Elizabeth giggled and said, "Sorry, mommy."

She stopped moving and I ran the brush through her hair quickly. I kissed the top of her hair and said, "Thank you. Now you're free to go. Are you ready to go see Aunt Alice and Uncle Jasper?" The little head in front of me bobbed up and down enthusiastically. I laughed and said, "Alright, let's go."

"Are you ready to go?" Edward asked from the doorway of the bedroom.

I nodded. "Let's go."

00

"So, do you plan sometime on telling me where we're going?" I asked as we walked down the sidewalk.

Edward just grinned and said, "You'll see. I had to do some researching on the internet to find the place, but I think it's going to be good."

I smiled as a thought occurred to me. "Do you even know where you're going?"

He smirked and said, "That's the beauty of Map quest, my dear. Here we are." He stopped me, placed his hands on my shoulders and turned me around.

We were standing in front of a little Italian restaurant. I gasped and turned to look at Edward, who had a smile on his face. "I've heard of this place. I heard that they have amazing food here."

Edward grinned and said, "Then let's see if they said the truth, shall we?" He went over to the door and held it open for me and asked, "Milady?"

I giggled and said, "Why thank you, kind sir."

As we entered the restaurant, the girl at the counter looked up. She stared at Edward for a moment before shaking her head and stuttering out, "Hello, w-w-welcome to _Le Bella_. H-how m-many?"

Edward flashed her his dazzling smile and said, "Two."

The girl looked at my hand and noticed the ring that was on my finger. A look of slight disappointment 

came over her, but nonetheless grabbed two menus and motioned for us to follow her.

I felt Edward shake with silent laughter and I nudged him lightly in the ribs and rolled my eyes at him.

The girl led us to a booth in a secluded area and placed the menus on the table. "Your waiter will be out shortly." Then she hurried off to the kitchen.

I giggled. "Just be happy the girl noticed that you're already married."

Edward laughed. "And married to the most beautiful woman on earth that I love so much."

I blushed, tears coming unbidden to my eyes. I looked down at the table, smiling. Stupid hormones.

The waiter came out just then. She ogled for a moment at Edward, and then she shook her head and, looking straight at Edward, said, "My name is Ashlee, I'll be your server tonight. Can I start you off with drinks?"

After she took our drink orders - mine was a water -, she went back to the kitchen.

"Poor girl might be hyperventilating right now in the kitchen," Edward said.

I chuckled, smiling.

The food did turn out to be amazing, even though it made me slightly queasy. After we ate, Edward paid and we walked back down the sidewalk to the car.

"Did I ever tell you how beautiful you look tonight?" he asked. His arm was wrapped around my waist and I was leaning my head against his shoulder.

I smiled. "You probably did. But I love to hear it just the same." I looked up at him.

Edward looked down at me and smiled. "I love you, Isabella Marie Cullen. Happy Anniversary."

I smiled. "I love you, too, Edward Anthony Cullen. Happy Anniversary."

00

(EPOV)

We made it back to the hotel just after nine. By the time we got to our hotel room door, Bella was stifling another yawn. She looked rather tired.

"Are you alright, love?" I asked as we walked into the room.

Bella nodded and smiled. "I'm fine."

I led her over to the couch and we sat down on it, Bella curling up into my side. I wrapped my arms around her. I always loved our moments like these, when it was just the two of us, enjoying each other's company.  


We had been sitting like this for a long while - it must have been around 10 o'clock - when Bella suddenly stiffened in my arms. She pulled out of my embrace and stumbled through the door leading into the bedroom. A second later I heard the bathroom door close.

"Bella?" I asked, getting up and going after her.

Just as I had found her this morning, I found her hunched over the toilet. I held her hair back and rubbed her back soothingly.

When she finished, I pulled her into my arms and rubbed her back, just like I had done this morning.

"Nice way to ruin our one year anniversary, huh?" Bella asked.

I chuckled. "It's alright, Bella. Are you feeling any better?" I felt her nod.

Then she pulled back and positioned herself on the bathroom floor in front of me. There was a serious - yet happy, nervous, and excited - look on her face.

"Edward, I have something to tell you," she said.

"What is it?"

"Edward, I'm...I'm pregnant."

_Bella's…pregnant? _These were the last thoughts before blackness started closing in on me and I pass out cold on the bathroom floor.

--

**Author's Note:**

**And so concludes another chapter. Were you expecting Edward's reaction? I have been imagining the reaction for a **_**very**_** long time. So, I hope that there was enough Bella and Edward fluff for all y'all fluff lovers. I'm not a very good fluff writer, as you can probably tell, but I tried my best.**

**NOTE: I'm trying to update as often as I can, but I may end up updating once a week until school is finished for the year. After that, I'll be able to update a lot more often, and I'll be able to think clearer and such. So, bear with me, readers. **

**Until Next Time: Nerdyguru2 **(Please remember to review!)


	10. Hurt and Happiness

**Disclaimer: **I do not own Twilight.

**Author's Note: **Thanks SO much for all the reviews! You guys rock!

**Answers to a couple Reviews:**

**Tuz Farkinca: **Yes, I totally agree that somebody shoulde get Edward a 'How To React When You Find You Sweetie is Pregnant For Dummies'. That would be too priceless.

**edwardfiend: **Yes, Edward did faint when Elizabeth was being born. And yes, he is crazy.

--

Chapter Nine: Hurt and Happiness

(BPOV)

I stared at my husband, who was out cold on the bathroom floor. I couldn't believe it. He had _passed out_!

"Honey?" I asked, tapping the side of his face with my hand. No response. "Edward?"

Still no response.

I sighed and pulled myself up from the bathroom floor to brush my teeth. After, I managed to pull Edward upward so he was sitting up, before I got exhausted.

He still didn't come to. I shook my head and went into the bedroom. I pulled on my pajama pants and an old T-shirt and then climbed onto the bed.

I couldn't help the anger that all of a sudden coursed through me. Husbands don't normally pass out when they get told that they were going to be a father. The look of shock and surprise and - surprisingly - betrayal that had crossed his face...I couldn't get that image from my mind.

As I turned onto my side to face the wall, the tears burned as they welled up in my eyes and they slid slowly down my face.

And then a thought occurred to me. What if Edward didn't wake up? What if I had killed him by telling him about our child? Oh, my gosh! I was a murderer! With a five year old daughter! Oh god... What will everybody think of me once they learned I killed my husband?! And especially on the night of our one year anniversary! I could just see it now! _Woman Kills Husband on their One Year Anniversary Because She was Tired of Him! On stands now_...

This brought on a fresh wave of tears and I ran hurriedly out of the bedroom and out of the hotel room.

Before knocking on Alice and Jasper's hotel door, I brushed the tears away from my face and took a deep breath. Then I knocked hurriedly on the door, and waited.

The door opened and Alice appeared. Her face immediately turned to worry as soon as she saw the tear marks on my face. "Bella? What's wrong? What happened?" she asked as she stood aside to let me in.

"I think I killed him!" I said, trying to make my voice calm. It didn't work. Fresh tears started rolling down my face.

"What?" Alice asked, the worry replaced by a confused look. "Why don't you sit down, Bella."

She led me over to the table in the kitchenette area and sat me down on a chair just as Jasper was coming over from the living room into the kitchenette area.

"What happened, Bella?" he asked, seeing my face.

"Yeah, what happened, Bella? Start from the beginning," Alice said.

I brushed the tears away from my face again and began. "It started out all nice and everything. We went to this little Italian restaurant, ate dinner, came back here, and then sat on the couch. And then I say to him that I have something to tell him. He asks what is it, and I tell him, and... Oh, gosh, I killed him! I'm a murderer!"

Jasper and Alice exchanged looks and from the looks of it, they were trying to hold back their laughter.

"He passed out?" asked Jasper, a highly amused look on his face.

I nodded. "First time I told him, he storms out on me. The next time I tell him, he _passes out_! That man seriously has issues with the whole baby thing."

"I don't think that you killed him, Bella. He's probably just out _cold_. I'm sure he'll wake up in a few minutes. Until then, just calm down and drink a little bit of water," Alice said, handing me a cup half full with water.

I accepted it, but only took a small sip of it then sat it down on the table. "So I didn't kill him?"

Jasper and Alice shook their heads.

"He just passed out. And oh, man, that story is going to be told for a long time coming," Jasper said, a huge grin on his face. "I can just see it now: How I Reacted to the News that I Was Going to be a Father. Emmett's going to get a kick out of that one."

"Wait, when did you find out?" Alice asked, turning to look at her boyfriend.

Jasper looked sheepish and said, "Um, at the amusement park, when you guys were on the roller coaster. Bella looked a little pale and it all clicked into place."

"Oh," Alice said, smiling widely.

I managed to smile a tiny smile.

And then it hit me. It was quiet. Too quiet...

"Where's Elizabeth?" I asked, not able to help the panic that rose in me.

Alice pointed over to the couch in the living room area. "Over on the couch. She conked out about an hour and a half ago. You know, for her age, that is one non-annoying kid."

I smiled a bit. "Yeah. I can't believe that she's almost six years old. Edward was saying a couple weeks ago that he was going to have to beat away the boys with a baseball bat when she was old enough to start getting interested in boys."

Jasper laughed. "Sounds like Edward."

"Yep. Sounds like Edward," I said, looking down at my arms.

(EPOV)

When I came to, I was leaning against the wall in the bathroom, sitting on the floor. Bella wasn't in the bathroom anymore, and that was when it all came flooding back to me – Bella telling me that she was pregnant; me passing out. She hadn't been sick at all; she was just going through morning sickness.

Gosh, me and my stupid obliviousness. Why didn't I figure it out before? She'd been having mood swings. Man, I was such an idiot; she must be so mad at me.

I went into the bedroom to see if she was there, but she wasn't. She wasn't in the living room either. Where was she? Panic began to settle over me and I began to worry. Please let her be at Alice's and Jasper's room.

I hurried out of the hotel room and went next door to Alice's and Jasper's room. I knocked softly on the door. It opened a few seconds later to reveal Jasper, who had a highly amused look on his face. He crossed his arms when he saw me standing there, and looked at me with his eyebrows raised.

"Yes, Eddie?" he asked.

Immediately, I felt guilt wash over me. I looked down at the ground. "First off, don't call me Eddie. Second, is Bella in there? I need to talk to her." My voice was quiet as I spoke, soft.

"She's awfully upset," he answered.

"How upset?" I asked.

"She thought she killed you, if that helps any," Jasper said.

I gave him an incredulous look and then asked, "Can I talk to her?"

"Alright, but I warned you; she's rather mad at you right now. Mind you, she has calmed down a bit, but she is still mad at you," Jasper said. He stood aside to let me come in, but then stopped me as I made to go inside. "Hold on. I have one more question; did you seriously faint?"

I rolled my eyes and went farther into the room as Jasper snickered.

Bella was sitting at the small kitchenette table with Alice. She looked up when she saw me. Her face was streaked with tear marks. "So," she said quietly, looking into my face, "I didn't really kill you, huh, unless you're like a…hallucination or hologram?"

"No, you didn't," I said quietly. "Can I talk you?"

She nodded silently before getting up from the table and saying to Alice and Jasper, "We'll see you guys in the morning. Want us to take Lizzy?"

"Oh, she can stay here. She looks rather comfy," Alice said.

Bella looked over at Elizabeth – who was asleep on the couch – and smiled a bit, rather tiredly. "Are you sure you guys don't mind?"

Alice shook her head. "We don't mind. You'll have her back at breakfast."

Bella groaned slightly and said, smiling a fake cheery smile, "Good night." Then she turned around and headed out the door after waving good bye.

"Bye," I said, waving and following after Bella.

Back in the hotel room, I found Bella leaning against the counter in the kitchenette. Her arms were crossed over her stomach, and she was looking down at the floor. When I entered, she looked up, but then looked down again. I was surprised by the blank of emotions on her face; it was just plain tiredness.

"So, you really are pregnant?" I asked, hoping that she wouldn't blow up; I remembered her pregnancy with Elizabeth, and at times she would blow up at the most simplest of questions. I had a feeling that she hadn't expected my reaction to the news that she was pregnant.

She looked up at me, her eyebrows raised. "Yes, Edward, I'm pregnant." Her voice was soft, and not angry, though I could detect a bit of anger and confusion in her carefully composed facial expression.

I guess I still must have had a bit of shock in my eyes because after a few seconds of silence, she asked, "Why'd you pass out?"

I smiled a nervous, innocent smile and cautiously said, "Well, I was, uh…shocked. I totally was not expecting that sort of news."

Bella raised her eyebrows again and asked, "What do you mean by that?" I could detect a bit of amusement in her voice, but it was just a smidgen of it, barely noticeable, and I could easily tell it was only wry amusement.

I moved across the kitchen to stand in front of her and placed my hands on her shoulders. As I leaned down to kiss her, I asked, "Do you know how much I love you?" My lips touched hers. She melted into the kiss like always, but after a couple seconds, she pulled away.

"You're changing the subject," she said all trace of amusement gone.

I sighed and scratched the back of my neck. "Uh, well, I don't know. I was shocked, that's all."

She raised her eyebrows again. "About? And I want the whole truth."

I laughed weakly, nervously, praying to the heavens that she wouldn't blow up. "Well, you know – the prospect of having to be in the…the delivery room and…. It's just weird! See you in pain…. Need I remind you that I passed out when Elizabeth was being born?"

To my relief she only stared at me for a moment before shaking her head and laughing softly. "You know what, Edward Cullen? You sometimes amaze me with your ability to be such an idiot sometimes."

I laughed full-heartedly this time, the smile on my face growing. "We're having a baby, Bella," I whispered. Taking her hand and placing it on her stomach, my hand enclosing hers.

"But are you happy? I'm only happy if you're happy," Bella said. The look on her face was one of desperation – desperation to know if I was okay with this.

But was I happy? Was I _happy_? I was not happy. I was not happy. I was beyond happy… I was ecstatic. I was thrilled beyond belief at the prospect of being a father – a real father. I was going to be a dad!

"Am I happy? I'm the happiest man alive," I said. "Are you?"

Bella smiled. "I couldn't be happier." I leaned in for a kiss. She happily obliged and placed her lips on mine.

When we broke apart, a confused look came to Bella's face and she asked, "What was with the slightly betrayed look in your eyes earlier as you were passing out?"

Ah, crud she was going to kill me. _I might as well just say it_. "Well, I kind of thought that the baby was somebody else's baby. I mean, we've only been married for a year, Bella." I tried to make it sound like it was only a simple thought. That, however, didn't work.

Bella froze. "What?" she asked, hurt flashing blindingly through her eyes. She stepped around me and started walking towards the living room area before turning around the face me.

"But I don't think that now," I said quickly.

"I can't believe you would even think that this baby is somebody else's," she said. Hurt and anger were clearly evident in her voice. I could see the tears rising in her eyes. "You know I would _never_ do that to you. Why would you even think that?"

"Because I know that you're hiding something from me," I said quietly, my eyes never leaving her face as I walked slowly over to her, cautiously. "Bella, love, I am so sorry."

Bella froze, and pain came to her eyes. She bit her lip to keep from crying. "The baby's yours," she whispered.

Then she turned and walked to the bedroom, closing the door behind her. I heard the lock click, and I knew that it would be a very bad idea to go after her. So, instead I made my way to the couch in the living room area and turned the TV on, turning the volume down low. I would try to apologize again in the morning.

I knew the baby was mine, and I knew that Bella would never do that to me.

Thrilled and excited as I was at the prospect of being a father, I could tell that this was going to be a very interesting and very long nine or so months….

--

**Author's Note:**

**Hello! Hope you all liked it; I had fun writing it. And I hope you all liked Bella's reaction to Edward's reaction to the news that she's pregnant. That was so much fun to write. I was sitting in the vetrinarian waiting area place when I wrote that. Anyway...**

**The next chapter should be up soon, but I have no guaruntee that it will be up before the weekend is over. It might be up sometime Tuesday, maybe Wednesday, I'm not particularly sure. I have a rough draft of my research paper (Guess what it's about... paper!) that's due on Monday, so I'll probably be working on that all weekend. **

**Okay, enough rambling. I have math homework to do (joy...). Until Next Time, NerdyGuRu2 (P.S. Remember to Review and tell me how the chapter was!) **


	11. Forgiveness

**Disclaimer: **I do not own Twilight.

--

Chapter Ten: Forgiveness

(BPOV)

I sat bolt upright as I was forced to wake up from my sleep. The sudden movement made my stomach turn over sickeningly, and I tore the blanket off and ran to the adjoining bathroom. I made it just in time.

A couple moments later, I heard someone open the bathroom door, and then pull my hair back.

When I was done a few minutes later, my stomach felt a lot better, though still a little bit queasy.

"Morning. Feeling any better?" asked a voice. It was Edward's voice.

I nodded without saying anything or looking up at him as I pulled myself up off the floor. As I started to brush my teeth, he spoke again, and his voice was soft, and full of regret.

"Listen, Bella, I'm sorry. I didn't mean to say what I said last night," he said. "And if I could go into the past to redo it, then I would. I'm really sorry."

I kept my eyes on the sink, intent on not looking him in the face. I was still mad at him about last night. He had no right in thinking that I, his _wife_, would actually do that to him. The idea was absolutely absurd. But, even though I was still mad at him, I was madder at myself than him.

"Bella, please, talk to me. I need to know that you're not mad at me," he said.

I sighed and spat the toothpaste out into the sink. I turned the faucet on and washed the toothpaste down the drain. As I began walking out of the bathroom door, him following, I said, "I'm mad at you. There, I spoke."

I grabbed a pair of jeans and a random T-shirt from the suitcase on the floor and went back into the bathroom, shutting the door in Edward's face.

"Bella, please?" He knocked softly on the bathroom door.

I opened the bathroom door and said, "I'm mad at you, yet I'm not mad at you. Does that make any sense?" Then I shut the door again, softly this time.

I couldn't help but be mad at him. What he had said had reminded me of yesterday afternoon, when that man showed up out of nowhere and asked questions about Lizzy. Edward had thought that the baby wasn't his, and that hurt me so much; it was almost as if he didn't trust me when it came to our relationship, our relationship that was so strong that nothing could break it.

Even if it was just a small and stupid fight about…nothing.

00

"Bella…."

"Edward?" I said, pulled a brush through my wet hair, still avoiding his gaze.

"Can we please just talk about this?" he asked. I shook my head. He sighed. "Bella, please?"

I rolled my eyes and turned to him. "Edward, like I said earlier, I am mad at you, yet I'm not mad at you. If that makes any sense at all to you, than you'll understand that I'm madder at myself than I am at you. Now, I wish I could explain the reason to you, but I can't."

"And why not?" he calmly asked.

"Because we're going to be late for breakfast," I said, walking past him and out of the bathroom.

As I did so, I could have sworn that I had heard him mutter, "At least I tried." I rolled my eyes and headed down to the dining room.

We arrived down in dining room a few minutes later. Alice and Jasper were already there with Elizabeth, but everybody else seemed to be a little late that morning. As we sat down – Edward next to Jasper, me next to Alice –, Alice raised her eyebrows and asked, "What's up with you guys?"

I looked at her as Elizabeth, who was sitting on Alice's lap, said, "Hello, mommy."

I smiled at her and said, "Hey, Lizzy," before looking back at Alice and saying, "Why don't you ask Edward. He's the one who started this whole thing."

"Didn't go over well last night?" she asked.

"I'll tell you later," I said as Emmett and Rosalie and Angie sat down.

Alice raised her eyebrows but let it slide nonetheless. "Alright, but I want to know _everything_."

I excused myself halfway through breakfast; the smell of the food was making me feel sick. When I got back up to the room, I started packing everything. We only had two hours left in Phoenix, and I didn't want to get stuck with packing at the last minute.

There was a knock on the door a few minutes after I got back to the room. I opened the door to see Alice standing in the doorway. "Hey," she said.

"Hey," I said, standing aside to let her through.

"So, what happened last night? Edward didn't say anything _at all_ during breakfast. And what was up with you two sitting on opposite sides of Jasper and I?" she asked. "What started the whole fight?"

I looked at her. "What makes you think that we're fighting?"

Alice gave me a pointed look. "Bella, you two barely spoke a word to each other all through breakfast. Now, tell me what started it."

"Let's see, the whole thing started when I saw the betrayal in his eyes when he passed out," I said. "When I asked him about it, he told me that he thought that the baby wasn't his."

"What?" Alice asked, shock crossing her face. "Is he serious? The baby's his!"

"I know that. But the way he phrased it last night hurt me so bad. It's like he doesn't trust me when it comes to our relationship, and trust me, our relationship is strong," I said.

"I know that. God, he can be _such_ an idiot sometimes, can't he?" she asked.

I nodded in agreement. "But the thing is, I'm mad at him, but I'm madder at myself than I am at him."

Alice tilted her head. "Why would you be mad at yourself? You didn't do anything."

I looked down at the kitchen floor. "I know that. I'm mad at myself because I haven't told him about what happened at the amusement park yesterday. He doesn't know about the guy. About...him."

Alice put her hand on my shoulder. "Don't take this out on yourself. It's bad for the baby. You need to tell him."

I nodded. "I know I do. But, I mean, when should I? I tell him about the dreams, and that has him worried enough. I don't want him to worry about anything else, especially since I'm pregnant. It's quite annoying when it comes to him worrying unnecessarily about me."

Alice wrinkled her eyebrows in confusion. "What dreams?"

"The dreams I've been having for the past few years," I said, avoiding Alice's gaze.

"Bella, what are these dreams about?" she asked. "What exactly are in these dreams that make Edward so worried?"

I bit my lip, wondering if I should tell her. I hadn't told anyone about these dreams when they started back when I had been pregnant with Elizabeth. Only Edward now knew about these dreams; he had found out after we had gotten married.

"I've been having these over and over again since two weeks before I moved to Forks," I said.

"And the two weeks before you moved back to Forks, that was when you were...?" Alice trailed off.

I nodded. "And these dreams, they make me relive the night it happened. They start out with me walking down an alleyway, and then I get pulled into a building, and then it switches to a court room, and his face appears and he says those same words. And then I wake up, screaming. It's the same thing over and over again."

"What words?" Alice asked.

"'I'll come back for you, just you wait'," I whispered. "You know how pregnancy makes dreams seem weird and stuff?" Alice nodded. "Well, pregnancy only makes these dreams more intensified." Unbidden tears were filling my eyes and I bit my lip to keep them from falling.

"Bella, you really need to tell someone about this," Alice said.

"What, a therapist?" I said. "No. Nobody knows about these dreams, except for Edward."

The hotel room door opened just then and we both looked to see Edward standing there, Elizabeth next to him.

"I'll leave you guys to talk," Alice said. She smiled an encouraging smile at me and then turned to leave the room. "Hey, Lizzy, why don't you and I go take a walk around the grounds of the hotel while your mom and dad talk, huh?" She looked over at me for approval and I nodded.

Once Alice and Elizabeth were gone, there was an awkward silence. We were still standing where we had been when Edward entered the hotel room.

"I'm sorry," I said, my voice quiet.

"No, I'm the one who should be sorry. I should never have thought that you would turn your back on me and do that, especially when I know I would never do that to you either," Edward said.

I nodded silently. "I know. But you have to understand that what you said hurt me badly."

He nodded. "I know that. And I am truly sorry."

"I know."

"So…fight forgotten?" he asked, giving me his crooked grin, knowing that I wouldn't be able to resist.

I giggled and nodded. "Fight forgotten. Thrown away and never thought of again."

Edward moved from his spot and it was then that I realized that we had been slowly moving toward each other; cautiously, but slowly and surely. He placed his lips on mine and, as always, I melted into the kiss. When we broke apart several seconds later, he moved away a few inches and placed his hand on my stomach. "So, there's really a baby in there?"

I nodded, smiling. "Oh, yeah, there's someone in there."

"How can mothers tell?" he asked.

I grinned. "We just do. Just call it a feeling in the pit of one's stomach."

He chuckled. "We're having a baby, Bella," he whispered in an excited whisper. The grin on his face was growing wider, and there was this excited gleam in his eyes.

I nodded. "We're having a baby."

"And I couldn't be happier," he said.

I nodded again. "Me, too."

And then his lips touched mine again.

00

(Unknown POV)

I watched as the large family waited to board the plane to Seattle, Washington. I pulled my hat down farther over my eyes and put my dark shades on. I knew that they didn't see me, but it was better to be safe than sorry. I couldn't risk blowing my cover.

My eyes were on the little girl. She was cuddling against the side of her mother. Elizabeth was her name, according to the little girl's mother.

"_Flight 501 now boarding for Seattle, Washington in Terminal 5_," said the overhead voice.

I watched as the family got up from their seats in the waiting area nearby and then headed toward the ticket checker.

Once they were in the corridor, slowly disappearing in the crowd of people, I got up and grabbed my bag that was next to my chair, and I myself headed toward the ticket checker. The woman smiled kindly at me as she checked my ticket, taking her precious time.

"Come on, hurry up. I don't have all day," I said.

The lady looked surprised and replied by saying, "Neither does the plane. Have a nice flight."

I smiled sarcastically and headed into the corridor that led to the plane, never removing my hat or sunglasses.

As I entered the plane, I saw the large family sitting near the front. I made my way to the back of the plane and sat down in my seat. All through the flight, I never took my eyes off the family. The woman I was following – Isabella – was sitting in clear view with the little girl sitting on her lap.

Two flights later, we were in Port Angeles. As soon as the plane landed and I was outside the airport, I hailed a taxi and got in. I told the driver to drive as fast as he could toward Forks and settled back into my seat, a small grin playing at my lips.

_It will be soon, my brother_.

00

(BPOV)

By the time the plane landed in Port Angeles, I was glad we had no more planes to ride that day. The turbulence had made my stomach all queasy and sick feeling, and I was looking forward to getting back home.

Even though I had slept through most of the flight from Phoenix to Seattle, and again during the flight from Seattle to Port Angeles, I still felt pretty tired. This was partly because of my pregnancy and partly because of jet lag.

"Are you alright, love?" Edward asked quietly in my ear as he wrapped an arm around my shoulders. We were walking out of the corridor into the airport.

I nodded. "I'm alright. Just feeling dizzy…sick…I'm fine."

"Are you sure? You look pale," he said.

I leaned my head against his shoulder like on the plane when I had fallen asleep and wrapped my arm around his waist. "I'm fine. It was just the plane."

He chuckled quietly and kissed the top of my head. "I love you," he whispered.

I smiled. "I love you, too, Edward."

_I always will_.

--

**Author's Note:**

**Hello again! Hope you all liked the chapter. I had fun writing the 'Unknown POV' part. **

**Who do think the 'Unknown POV' is? Let me know in your review. Of course, I know who it is, so the people who guess correctly will win a plate of chocolate chip cookies (homemade ones, too). **

**Next Chapter: should be up soon. Probably within the week. We're trying to finish up school within the next couple weeks, so it shouldn't be too long before I'll be able to update more often. **

**Remember to review! (I know you'd love to!) Until Next Time: NerdyGuRu2**

--

**SPOILER FOR FUTURE CHAPTER**

**(Can't say which because I can't tell myself)**

I must have fallen asleep because the next thing I knew, my eyes opened. My book was beside me on the bed, and the clock read 9:30 p.m. I sat up slowly, confused. I knew that I had been awoken by something, I just couldn't figure out what.

All of a sudden, there was a noise coming from the kitchen. A rattling sort of noise, and then a soft creaking. I got off the bed and went out of the bedroom. I walked as softly and quietly as I could.

I stifled a scream as I saw who was standing in the middle of my kitchen.

"Hello, Isabella. It's nice to see you again."


	12. Telling the Family

**Disclaimer: **I do not own Twilight. I just own Elizabeth, and Bella's bookstore.

**Author's Note: Thanks so much for the reviews! You guys rock!**

--

Chapter Eleven: Telling the Family

(BPOV)

"_Mommy!"_

_I looked up as my three year old daughter came running out of her bedroom and climbed up onto the couch next to me. She cuddled against my side as another rumble of thunder sounded. "Yes, Lizzy?"_

"_The big crashes are scary, mommy. And the big flashes of white light up my room," she said. _

_I smiled and wrapped my arm around her. "The thunder and lightning are okay, Lizzy. They won't hurt you."_

_A sharp crack of thunder sounded through the air and Lizzy gasped in fright. I giggled lightly and said, "You're okay. Do you want to stay out here with me until the thunderstorm passes?" She nodded. "Alright, why don't you go get Mr. Scruffy and your blanket and we'll settle down on the couch all nice and comfy."_

_She looked at me, brushing away her brown hair from her face. Then she got up from the couch, stood in front of me and then pulled on my arm. Apparently she wanted me to come with her. _

"_Come on, mommy," she said, pulling at my arm. _

_I laughed and got up, following her to her bedroom. _

_Thunder rumbled again, this time – so it seemed – to shake the floor beneath us because it was so loud. Elizabeth wrapped her arms around my leg and I picked her up so that I could walk better. _

_I grabbed Mr. Scruffy – Elizabeth's un-fluffed teddy bear – from her bed and headed back out to the living room. _

_There was a knock at the door just then and I sat Elizabeth down on the couch before hurrying to get the door. As soon as I opened it, Edward came hurrying through, soaking wet from the absolute pouring rain outside. _

"_Hey, what are you doing here? It's like storming like crazy out there," I said. _

_He grinned. "I just thought that I would come and check to see if you girls were okay. And yes, it's storming _and_ pouring out there. I'm Evidence No. 1."_

"_You are one crazy man, Edward Cullen," I said, smiling as he leaned in to kiss me. I pulled away a second later. "Crazy _and _soaking. Don't move, I'll get you a towel."_

"_Daddy!" Elizabeth said, running over from the living room. "It's scary out there."_

"_Yes, it is, little lady. And I bet the giants up there are beating the little midgets with their amazing bowling skills," he said. _

_Elizabeth looked at me, a questioning look in her eyes. I laughed. "I'll explain it to you later. And you –don't move until you've dried off," I added as Edward made a move toward the living room. _

_He only grinned innocently at me, but stayed put. _

"What are you smiling at?" Edward asked, the thunder that was rumbling now very nearly drowning out his words.

I smiled. "I was just remembering the time we had that thunderstorm two years ago, when Lizzy was three. You showed up in the pouring rain, soaking wet."

Edward grinned. "I remember that one. The power went out that night."

"And Lizzy is still scared of thunderstorms," I said.

As if she had heard me, Lizzy came running into our bedroom. "Thunder is scary, mommy."

Edward laughed. "Is that so? It sounds like giants are getting rallied up again for another one of their bowling games." Thunder cracked again and he wiggled his eyebrows mysteriously. "Want to help me commentate?"

I laughed as Edward pulled Elizabeth up onto the bed and settled her in between us and began 'commentating'.

"Welcome ladies and gentlemen to another match with Giants vs. … the Midgets. Today…."

Oh, Edward…my crazy yet lovable husband.

00

"Are you sure you want to do this _tonight_?" I asked as we walked up the porch steps of the Cullen's mansion of a house. "I mean, half of them already know."

Edward kissed my hand and nodded. "I'm sure. We can't keep it from them forever, you know. We still have to tell Charlie and Renee, if you haven't forgotten."

"Oh, I haven't forgotten. Let's get it over with then," I said.

Edward opened the front door of the house and then we walked in. "Hello?" he called out.

Alice came running out of the kitchen and came to a halt right in front of me. An excited gleam was in her eyes as she said, "Hello, Bella, Edward, Elizabeth. Can I steal Bella for a moment?" Without waiting for an answer, she said, 'thanks', and then pulled me up the staircase to her old room.

"Hello to you, too, Alice. What's up with you tonight?" I asked as she pulled me down the halls.

She only smiled at me before pulling me into her old bedroom.

"You guys are telling them tonight, aren't you?" she asked, her voice going squeaky with excitement.

I sighed and nodded. "Yes, we're telling them tonight. And you'd better not burst and tell them yourself before we manage to get the words out of our mouths."

She giggled. "I wouldn't do that to you guys." She smiled at me innocently. I gave her a pointed look. "Alright, I might. But this news is so exciting! It's been bubbling up inside me for the past three weeks. I've been dying to tell someone for forever! I've been good, though."

I smiled and giggled slightly. "Yes, you have been good."

She grinned. "Thank you. So, how excited is Edward about telling them?"

I rolled my eyes. "Ecstatic."

"Of course," she said. "And you?"

I sighed. "Excited, but not _as_ excited."

00

We were eating dessert in the living room when Edward nudged me lightly in the arm and whispered into my ear, "Let's tell them now."

"Now?" I whispered back. "Are you sure?" He nodded. "Alright, if you insist."

Edward grinned and stood up, pulling me up along with him. I blushed when everybody turned their attention to us. "Everybody, Bella and I have an announcement to make."

"And what would that announcement be little brother?" Emmett asked. I blushed deeper, though I was smiling.

Upon realizing two seconds later exactly what announcement Edward and I were about to make, Alice grinned and Jasper and Carlisle got wide smiles on their faces. Elizabeth just looked around at everybody, wondering what was going on.

Edward's grin grew even wider as he said, "Bella and I are having a baby!"

There were three split seconds of total silence. Across the living room, I could see Alice practically vibrating with excitement in her seat next to Jasper. Grins broke out on everybody's faces and then they all got up from their seats around the living room to congratulations to us.

"Congratulations, my little brother," Emmett said, clapping him on the back. "I knew it would be sometime one of these days."

My blush got even deeper as Emmett clapped me on the back as well.

After a couple more moments of congratulations and hugs, Rosalie asked, "So how did Edward react when you told him the news, Bella?"

Edward turned red from embarrassment as Alice and Jasper broke out laughing.

"Uh, well," I said, "He…uh, he…passed out."

Emmett stared at Edward, a highly amused grin on his face. "You passed out? _Edward Cullen_ passed out when he learned he was going to be a father? Oh, man, I thought I would never see the day he would do that." He burst out laughing, Jasper joining in along with him.

Edward glared at his two older brothers.

"That's even funnier than when he had to squeak like a duck in that little play we did for mom and dad," Rosalie said, snickering.

"Boys, stop laughing at your brother. It's a common thing for husbands to pass out when their wives tell them they're having a baby," Carlisle said calmly.

"Yeah, and might I remind you, Emmett Cullen, that you passed out when I told you I was pregnant with Angie. So you shouldn't laugh," Rosalie said, slapping Emmett's arm with the back of her hand.

Emmett stopped laughing and blushed. "Sorry, Rose."

"Wait, how many of you knew about Edward's and Bella's news before tonight?" Rosalie asked.

Carlisle, Jasper, and Alice raised their hands.

"All of you?" Emmett and Esme asked.

"Well, I was the one who made Bella admit it," Alice said.

"And I was the one who confirmed it," Carlisle said.

Emmett turned to Jasper and said, "How did _you_ find out?"

"I kind of guessed that day at the amusement park," Jasper answered, a sheepish smile on his face. "I mean, it was rather obvious."

You know, I've always wondered if one's face could explode from the amount of blushing on did – by the time Jasper answered Emmett's question, my face was beat red from embarrassment.

00

The next morning, I was pouring some cereal into a bowl when I felt a pair of arms snake around my waist and someone kiss my cheek.

"Good morning, my dear," said Edward's velvety voice said in my ear. I smiled and turned around.

"Morning," I said. He leaned in to kiss me and I happily obliged. However, a few seconds later, we heard someone clear their throat. We looked down to see Elizabeth standing there, looking up at us. "Good morning, Lizzy."

"I'm hungry," she said.

"Okay. Do you want some cereal?" I asked. She nodded. "Okay, go and sit down at the table and I'll bring some over to you."

"Okay," she said, turning around and walking to the table.

Edward laughed. "She likes to interrupt us kissing, doesn't she?"

I giggled. "She liked to do that before she was born, too." I poured milk over the cereal and brought it over to Elizabeth and set it in front of her.

"When should we tell Charlie?" Edward asked.

The phone rang just then and Edward went to pick it up. "Hello? Oh, hey, Charlie, what's up? Uh, yeah, she's right here. Hold on." He handed me the phone saying, "It's Charlie."

I raised my eyebrows at him. I took the phone and said, "Hello?"

"Hi, Bella. I just wanted to say hello," he said. "We haven't spoken in a while."

"Okay," I said.

"Ask him over for dinner," Edward whispered into my ear. "We can tell him then."

I looked at him, my eyebrows raised. "Well, uh, why don't you come over for dinner tonight? We could talk then. Edward and I have some news anyway to share with you."

"News?" Charlie asked. "And what news would that be?"

"Well, you'll find out tonight. Is…" I looked over at Edward, tapping my wrist like I was tapping a watch. He mouthed 5:30. "…6 o'clock okay?"

"Uh, yeah, that's fine. I'll see you then. Bye, kiddo," Charlie said.

"Bye," I said, and hung up the phone. "You are so dead," I said to Edward, who only grinned innocently.

"What?"

"You're going to be late for work if you don't hurry," I said.

Edward looked at his watch and his eyes widened. "Alright, I'm leaving." He placed his lips on mine and said, "Love you. Bye."

"Love you, too. Bye," I said.

"Bye, Lizzy," he said, kissing the top of her head.

"Bye, daddy," she said.

"I'll be back around six," he said, grabbing his bag. "See you then." And then he was out the door.

Fifteen seconds later, the kitchen door opened and Edward came through again. "I forgot my keys," he said. I laughed as he grabbed his keys from the table and kissed me good bye again.

As the door closed behind him once again, I turned to Lizzy and said, "Daddy's silly, isn't he?"

Elizabeth only grinned.

--

**Author's Note:**

**Yay, happy chapter. I hope you all liked it. For those of you who put down in their review for last chapter who they thought the Unknown POV was, I'm not going to tell which people guessed correctly, because that won't be revealed for at least a few more chapters. **

**And for those of you who are confused/ wondering, Edward is a doctor, alongside Carlisle. I know that you have to go through four years of medical school, but in this story, Edward is a doctor, and only had to go through one year. If this bugs anyone, sorry about that. The only way it could go along with the plotline I have in mind, I had to make him a doctor. I just was wanted to clear that up. **

**Next Chapter: Edward and Bella tell Charlie and Renee and Elizabeth. Oh, this is going to be so much fun to write. **

**Until Next Time: NerdyGuRu2 (Remember to review! They make me squeal with excitement every time I see a review!) **


	13. A Bad Feeling

**Disclaimer: I do not own Twilight.**

**Author's Note: Sorry for the absence. There's a full explanation down at the bottom. Sorry if the chapter drags a little bit, or if it seems like it's rushed. I had a little bit of trouble writing this chapter.**

--

Chapter Twelve: A Bad Feeling

(BPOV)

_Bring! Bring! _

The phone on the desk began to ring and I picked it up. "Wonderful Journey's Bookstore, how may I help you?" I asked into the phone.

"Man, I love it when you answer like that."

The angelic sounding voice of my husband made me smile. "Well, considering you called the bookstore and not the phone upstairs, then, yes, I would answer like that. What's up?"

"I'm taking my lunch break right now, and I just thought that I would call my lovely wife," he said. "So how are you doing this lovely late morning?"

I smiled. "Good."

"How's Elizabeth?"

I looked under the desk where Elizabeth was, curled up under the desk, sleeping. "She's under the desk right now, sleeping. I didn't tell her to be there; she likes to curl up under there with several pieces of paper and some crayons. I'm about to wake her up to feed her some lunch." The thought of lunch made my stomach churn a bit.

Edward chuckled. "Well, don't forget to feed yourself."

I gave a weak chuckle. "I'll try not to forget. Listen, I gotta go. I have to close up the shop for the day." The bookstore was only open for half of the day on Saturdays.

"Okay. Hey, I was thinking; maybe you should call your mother this afternoon and tell her the news."

"Why?" I asked.

"Well, it would be one less person to tell tonight, and, well, wouldn't that be less, uh…stress on you?" he asked.

I was about to answer when the bookshop door opened. "I gotta go. See you to –" I looked up from the desk and abruptly cut off when I saw who had just come through the door.

"Bella? Bella?"

"Renee just walked through the door," I whispered into the phone. I waved at her to get her attention. She did and started walking over to the desk. "She's coming over. I'll see you later."

"Say hello to Renee for me. Love you," Edward said.

"Love you, too. Bye," I said and hung up the phone. Then I got up from my seat and went around the desk to greet her. "Hey, mom!" I said as she threw her arms around me.

"Hi, sweetie," she said. She put me out at arm's length and looked me up and down. "Oh, you look fantastic."

I blushed. "Thanks. So, this is a nice surprise, you coming to visit unexpectedly. When did you get to Forks?"

"About twenty minutes ago. Phil and I decided that since we hadn't seen you since your wedding, we should come up to Forks and visit you," Renee said.

I smiled. "Well, I'm glad you did. It's been a long time. Where's Phil?"

"Oh, he's back at the hotel, checking us in. I just decided to come here and visit for a few minutes," she said, putting her arm around my shoulders.

I gave a short, weak laugh. "Uh, well, have you had any lunch yet? I was just about to go up and make some lunch if you're interested."

"Oh, I wish I could, but I can't. I promised Phil that I would meet him back at the hotel for lunch," she said.

"If you don't have any plans tonight, then how about you and Phil come over for supper tonight?" I said, praying that she would say yes. "Edward and I have some news to share with all three of you."

Renee raised her eyebrows. "I guess that would be alright. Where do you live again?" she asked.

I rolled my eyes. "Upstairs, mom, above the bookshop."

"Oh. Well, what time do you want us?" she asked.

"6 o'clock. Charlie's coming, too," I said.

"Alright. See you, then. Bye, honey," said Renee. She kissed me on the cheek, waved good-bye and headed out of the bookshop.

Elizabeth came out from under the desk then and, pulling on the hem of my shirt, said, "I'm hungry, mommy. Is it time for lunch yet?"

My stomach churned sickeningly at the thought of lunch and I gritted my jaw against the nausea. I nodded my head quickly and said, "Why don't you go on upstairs and I'll be right there?"

"Okay," she said.

She turned around and then a couple seconds later, disappeared up the stairs as I quickly clamped a hand over my mouth and ran to the bathroom.

(EPOV)

I had never taken part in such a quiet dinner. With the exception of Elizabeth, who was chatting to Renee about how excited she was to be starting first grade in September, we were all pretty silent. I kept glancing over at Bella, who had a slightly pale look on her face. Her eyes were darting every now and then between Charlie, Renee, and Phil.

_Click, click, click. _

All you could hear – besides Elizabeth's voice – was the clicking of the forks against the plates. It was absolutely silent.

Finally, Charlie began to ask questions about Phil's baseball and what it was like to train. I could have sworn that I heard Bella sigh slightly with relief. I bit back a chuckle and rubbed my thumb along her hand, my hand clasped in hers.

When we finished eating, I nudged Bella's leg lightly with my leg and jerked my head slightly towards the three other adults sitting around the table. She nodded and then began to clear everybody's plates from the table.

"Would everybody like some coffee?" I asked.

"Yes, thank you," Renee said.

I got up from the table as well and grabbed four coffee mugs from the cupboard.

"How about we tell them in the living room? It might be a bit softer if any of them passes out," I whispered to Bella.

She looked at me with an incredulous look on her face. "That'd be better than yelling. Let's tell them in the living room." She grabbed the coffee pot and put it on the tray.

I handed her the mugs saying, "They won't yell, nor pass out. They'll be thrilled." I was hoping to make her less nervous about telling them. "And are you alright?" I whispered.

She nodded and whispered back as we walked back toward the table, "Stroganoff." Then, louder, she said, "How about we drink the coffee in the living room?"

They agreed and we all went into the living room.

"Lizzy, why don't you go into your room and play for a few minutes while we talk, alright?" I said to Elizabeth.

"Okay," she said, then took her coloring book and went to her room.

Things were silent for a few seconds until Renee said, "This is a lovely little apartment, Bella, really, it is. How long have you lived here?"

Bella poured the coffee into the mugs as she said, "Ever since before Elizabeth was born."

"And how long would that be?" Phil asked.

Bella handed a coffee mug to Renee, Phil and Charlie, then handed one to me. "Five years, almost six. How's Florida?"

"Oh, it's wonderful, absolutely wonderful! You would absolutely love it down there, Bella. We live right on the beach, where you can hear the waves rolling at night. It's absolutely beautiful," Renee answered. "In fact, Phil and I were wondering if Lizzy would like to come visit us for a while in Florida sometime this year."

Bella and I looked at each other.

"Of course, the arrangements don't have to be made tonight, just a…suggestion for the future," Renee said.

""You'd have to ask her," Bella said.

Everybody was silent for a few more seconds before Charlie said, "So, Bella, you said that Edward and you had some news to share with us?"

Bella and I looked at each other again.

"That's right. You said you had some news to share with us, didn't you. Is it something that we should be concerned about?" Renee asked.

Bella shook her head, a slight smile growing on her face. I set my coffee mug down on the table and took hold of her hand as she began speaking. "We…we do actually. We have something important to tell you. Mom, dad, Phil, I'm pregnant."

Renee, Phil, and Charlie looked at us, their faces frozen in shock.

"We're having a baby," I said, hoping to unfreeze them.

Charlie was the first one to recover from his shock. I could have sworn that I saw a teeny smile start to tilt up the corners of his mouth. "You're…you're…pregnant?"

Bella and I nodded simultaneously, both of us wearing identical happy smiles.

"Really?" he asked. We nodded again. His face broke out into a full smile and he jumped up from his seat, almost forgetting that he had a cup of coffee in his hand and almost spilling it. "Congratulations, you two. I knew it would be sometime in the future," he said, throwing his arms around both of us after putting his coffee cup down on the table.

"Thanks, dad," Bella said. She looked relieved that Charlie was actually happy about it.

Phil was the next one to break out of his surprise. "Congratulations, Bella, Edward." He got up and hugged Bella, and then shook hands with me.

Renee broke out of her shock then and said, "You're pregnant?"

Bella nodded. "I'm about six weeks along."

"How long have you two known?" Renee asked.

"Well, I've known longer than Edward has. I found out, like, three weeks ago, and then I told him on our anniversary last week," Bella said.

Renee blinked a couple times and asked, "So, you're cool with this, Edward?"

I nodded. "I'm beyond cool with this. I'm even beyond thrilled with the prospect of having a kid – I'm ecstatic."

Renee raised her eyebrows. "Are you sure you'll be able to help raise your _own kid_? It takes a lot of work. And, Bella, are you sure you'll be able to handle another kid?"

Bella had lost her smile. "I am sure I will be able to do it."

"Are you sure that you know what you're getting yourself into?" Renee asked.

"Mom…." Bella said.

Now I had lost my smile as well. "I assure you, Mrs. Dwyer, that I know what I'm getting myself into. I mean, I helped Bella raise Elizabeth."

Renee raised her eyebrows again. "Did you?"

"Mom, stop it, please," Bella said. "Yes, he did help me raise Elizabeth."

Renee sighed and looked down at her lap. "Alright. Congratulations to the both of you. Bella, honey, thank you for a lovely dinner, but I'm afraid that it's getting late, and Phil and I have to get back to the hotel."

Bella nodded silently, without looking at her mother. "You're welcome."

Renee and Phil stood up and a couple minutes later were out the door, after saying good-bye.

"I guess that I'll go, too," Charlie said. We stood up and he came over and hugged Bella and I each one more time. "Congratulations, again, to the two of you. This is really exciting news. And I'm sure, Bella, that once Renee cools off and realizes how happy the two of you are, she'll be happy, too."

Tears filled Bella's eyes and she threw her arms around Charlie. "Thank you, dad."

"You're welcome, sweetheart," Charlie said. "I'll see you guys around town?"

We nodded.

"Good night, you two. Say good night to Lizzy for me, will you?" he asked as we started toward the door.

"We will, Charlie. Good night," I said.

After the door closed behind Charlie, Bella walked over to the sink and turned the faucet on. She watched as the sink filled up with water. I walked over to her and wrapped my arms around her waist. She leaned her head back and sighed.

"That was interesting," I said, hoping to make the mood lighter.

"She shouldn't have said those things to you," she said.

"Bella, I'm alright. She was probably just shocked to hear that we are having a kid so early in our marriage," I said.

Bella turned around. "She's just Renee. Could you bring the coffee mugs over here?"

I raised my eyebrows suspiciously, but brought the mugs over to her. She was hiding something from me, and I was going to find out what.

00

(BPOV)

I felt exhausted after the dinner with my parents, and all I wanted to do was climb into bed and cry until my tear ducts ran dry, but I couldn't.

As Edward went over to get the cups from the coffee table, he looked at me suspiciously, like he knew that I was hiding something from him. I _was_ hiding something from him. But I couldn't tell him, not yet. Not now, when he was so happy.

I couldn't take that away from him.

As I began washing the dishes silently, with Edward drying, I got this feeling in the pit of my stomach, like I knew something was coming.

And that something…that something was something _very_ bad.

I knew then that I _needed _to tell him about what happened and that _he_ was back. I needed to tell him, before it got too late.

--

**Author's Note: **

**Hello, again! Sorry for the absence. I was busy with school, and VBS was all last week. But the good news is - I am ALMOST finished with school. So, possibly, within the next two updates, I'll be done with school. I also had a bit of writers block with this chapter, but hopefully it's up in gear now. **

**Oh, sorry if Phil or Renee or Charlie were a bit OOC. I hope Renee's reaction was okay. Let me know if their reactions stunk, but please do so nicely. I don't exactly like flames (now that I know what they are). Next Chapter: Bella gets a strange letter. **

**Remember to review on your way out (They're ALWAYS appreciated!) Until Next Time: NerdyGuRu2**

**-- **

**SPOILER FOR NEXT CHAPTER:**

**(You can't ask me about it!)**

I stared at the envelope in front of me on the Island top wondering if I should open it, or shred it and throw it away.

"Well, aren't you going to open it?" Alice asked. "I'm dying to know what it says."

I drew in a deep breath and, with shaking hands, opened the envelope. I took the piece of paper out, and began reading, my stomach getting sicker and sicker with each word I read.


	14. Fear

**Disclaimer: I do not own Twilight.**

--

Chapter Thirteen: Fear

(EsPOV)

I was just finishing putting the plates into the cupboard, humming all the while, when there was a knock on the door. I looked at the clock, figuring that time must have flown by, but only realized three minutes had gone by since I started putting the dishes away. I went to open the door.

There, on my doorstep, was a man looking to be in his mid- to late thirties. He had dull green eyes that looked oddly familiar. They were too familiar, if you asked me…. His eyes held a malicious sort of gleam to them.

When I opened the door he smiled a smile that almost sent tingles down my back.

"May I help you?" I asked.

"Uh, yes. My name's Philip. I'm looking for Isabella Swan. Does she, by any chance, live here?" the man asked.

I shook my head. "No, I'm sorry, she doesn't."

"Do you, perhaps know where I could find her?" he asked politely, though I could sense some sort of…eagerness in his voice.

I shook my head again. There was no way I was giving information to a guy who I hadn't seen around town before, especially when they had a malicious sort of gleam in their eye. He didn't even know that Bella's last name was now Cullen. "No, I don't. Do you know her personally or something?"

He hesitated for a second and then said, "I knew her from…Phoenix. I was a…friend, you could say, but only briefly, before she left to come here."

"Well, there's no Isabella Swan that lives _here_," I said.

"Okay. Do you know if you're going to be seeing her around any time soon?" he asked.

I nodded.

"Great. Well, could you give this to her?" he asked, pulling an envelope out of his pocket and holding it out to me.

"Uh, sure," I said.

"Thanks. If you see her around, could you tell her that Philip Stuartson was looking for her? I'll be staying in town for a while to take care of some…business," he said, his eyes darting from place to place, like he was nervous about something. He held the envelope out further.

I raised my eyebrows, but took the envelope from him anyway.

The man smiled at me again, a small evil glint in his eyes, and walked away down the porch steps.

Before he got too far away, though, I called out to him. "If you need Bella for something, then look for her at _Wonderful Journey's Bookstore_."

He turned around and called back. "Thank you."

(BPOV)

It had been two weeks since we told Charlie, Renee, and Phil, and I was now two months along. Renee hadn't called back; I had tried calling her numerous times, but all I got was Phil, who answered the phone, telling me that Renee was out, or too busy to come to the phone. Finally, I figured that it would be better if I just waited for her to call me.

A couple days after we told Charlie, Renee, and Phil, Edward and I had our first doctor's appointment with Carlisle.

We had seen the baby the first time that day, though it was only a teeny, teeny speck on the monitor screen. Even though it was still so, so small, I thought that it was the most precious thing in the world, besides Elizabeth.

I still hadn't told Edward about…_him_. I was scared to. I was scared that he would be too angry at me for not telling him sooner.

But I realized too late that it would catch up and take hold of me. And it did. And I realized then, that I needed to tell him before anything more happened.

00

"Come on, Lizzy, it's time to go," I said, walking into the living room.

Elizabeth was sitting on the couch, watching _The Little Mermaid_, and clutching Mr. Scruffy – her unstuffed teddy bear – in her arms. She had gotten back from her play-date at her friend Alex's house a couple hours earlier.

I smiled whenever I thought about Elizabeth's friend. They were best friends, and had been best friends since the start of kindergarten. Elizabeth didn't have any other friends; she was too shy and quiet around the kids her age. I was glad that she had found Alex.

I grabbed my shoes from beside the couch and sat down next to Elizabeth to put them on.

"Are you ready to go to Grandma and Grandpa's?" I asked.

She nodded and hopped off the couch and ran over to the television set to turn it off. On her way back, she tripped over her own feet, but picked herself back up and then hurried the rest of the way over to me.

I laughed. She loved going over to Grandma and Grandpa's every Friday night. She loved them both dearly, and they loved her back dearly as well. It was actually quite cute.

"Alright, alright, hold on. I just need to get my shoes on so we can go," I said.

"Where's daddy? Isn't he coming with us?" she asked.

I nodded. "He's meeting us there; he and Grandpa Carlisle had to work later than usual."

"Oh," she said. "Come on, mommy," she added as I tied the shoe lace on the last shoe.

I laughed. "Alright, we're going, we're going."

Once Elizabeth was strapped in her seat, I started the silver Prius and backed out of the driveway.

I had to admit that I liked the smooth feeling ride of the Prius, but I missed my old truck. The truck had finally died about two years ago, and Edward had – after some bribing – managed to convince me to let him pick out a new car that wasn't a "metal contraption", as he had called it. I had managed to convince him to get something that was _not_ too fancy – I was not a fancy type girl. I mean, I didn't even care what I threw on in the morning for clothes.

We arrived at the Cullen house fifteen minutes later. Just as I was about to open the door, it opened and Elizabeth and I were pulling inside by two large arms. This was going to get _very_ old, _very _soon….

"Hi, Emmett," I said.

"Hi, Bella," he said. "Hi, Elizabeth." He turned to me and said, "Can we borrow Elizabeth for a moment?"

I raised my eyebrows. "Why?"

"We want to try something," Jasper said, appearing next to Emmett.

"Um, okay," I said. "Just, uh, don't do anything that might tear limbs off or something."

"We won't," Emmett and Jasper said, identical grins on their faces. "Come on, Lizzy," Jasper said, and the three disappeared into the living room, Elizabeth looking back at me with look that plainly said, _nothing with my two uncles is ever safe. _

I shook my head, smiling, as I headed into the kitchen.

"Oh, good, finally you're here!" Alice said as I entered the kitchen. She waved me over to the Island and patted the stool next to her. "Sit, I want to show you something."

I sat down and she put several pieces of paper in front of me. "Hi, Esme. What's this?"

"Hello, Bella," Esme answered, closing the oven door.

"This is the new clothing line for my store. I made some of them up myself. Last year's fall clothing is so not in style any longer," Alice said.

"Oh, that's cute," I said, pointing to a white, long sleeved shirt that had buttons down the front. It had a border of small flowers along the hem of it.

"That's a good one," Alice said. "I'll put you down for one. Hey, Esme, don't you think this is cute?" She pointed to the shirt, and Esme looked at it. "Want me to put you down for one?"

"Oh, yes, that _is_ cute. Yes, put me down for one," Esme said. She turned to me and said, "Oh, Bella, before I forget, I have something to give you."

She pulled an envelope from the refrigerator door and placed it on the Island top in front of me. "Some guy delivered it here this afternoon, saying that it was for you and that I had to give it to you."

"What guy?" I asked. Something clicked in the back of my mind, but I couldn't tell what it was.

"I'm not sure. He seemed like he was in desperate need to get that to you," she said, pointing to the envelope.

"What'd he look like?" I asked. For some unknown reason, I was beginning to grow nervous, and my palms were starting to get sweaty.

"Uh, he looked like he was mid- to late thirties, he had dull green eyes," Esme answered. "He said he was a brief friend of yours from Phoenix. Why do you ask?"

"N-nothing," I said.

I stared at the envelope in front of me on the Island top wondering if I should open it, or shred it and throw it away.

"Well, aren't you going to open it?" Alice asked. "I'm dying to know what it says."

I drew in a deep breath and, with shaking hands, opened the envelope. I took the piece of paper out, and began reading, my stomach growing sicker and sicker with each word I read.

_Dear Ms. Isabella M. Swan:_

_On behalf of my brother, I am sending this letter to you personally. You may not know me, but I am sure we have met before. You may not remember the day at the amusement park in Phoenix, Arizona, but that – I am sure – is the day you saw me for the second time._

_Now, you may be confused right now, but I assure you that I'm no stalker. I am merely a lawyer, who is quite interested in meeting his niece properly. I know you have a daughter. Your daughter is the daughter of my brother, James Andrew Stuartson. _

_My parents and I would like to properly meet your daughter. My parents are just dying to meet their granddaughter, and have been anxiously waiting to meet her for the first time. _

_Now, if you do not agree to the idea of you daughter – Elizabeth, wasn't it? – meeting her real grandparents, then I am afraid that there will be not so pretty consequences. _

_Please send back a date and time, or I assure you that you will not see light ever again within the next two months, nor will your little family. _

_Yours sincerely, _

_Philip Michael Stuartson_

I stared at the name at the end of the letter. He had followed us _back_ to Forks. He had _followed_. And it was my entire fault. I had even noticed. My family was in danger…all because he had followed me home, because he had come for _me_.

"Bella?"

I barely heard Alice calling my name. It was a moment before I snapped out of my reverie. When I did, the letter floated to the Island top. "He's here," I whispered, my voice barely loud enough for even me to hear.

"Hmm?" I heard Alice ask. She placed a hand on my arm and shook it gently. Esme was now next to me, looking at me with a confused, yet worried expression on her face.

"He's here," I repeated, louder this time, staring at the Island top.

(APOV)

As soon as Bella finished reading the letter, or whatever it was that was on the paper, fear and shock filled her face. Esme came around the Island and sat next to her, confusion and worry lining her eyes.

"Bella?" I asked, but she didn't seem to hear me.

It was a moment before she snapped out of the reverie she was in. The letter floated to the Island top as she whispered something unintelligible.

"Hmm?" I asked, placing my hand on her arm and shaking it gently.

She repeated the same words again, louder this time. "He's here."

My eyes went wide. _He_ was here. _He _was here in Forks, Washington. "Bella, are you sure?" I asked. Esme looked at us, confused.

"Who's here?"

"That was no friend of mine, Esme, the guy who dropped that letter off," Bella whispered. She bit her lip to keep from crying.

"I figured. That's why I only told him he could find you at the bookstore. I didn't tell him where you lived," Esme said.

Bella's already pale face turned even paler and she scurried off the stool and bolted from the kitchen. Half a moment later, we heard a door bang shut.

"Who was she talking about? Who's here?" Esme asked as we both looked after Bella, worried looks on our faces.

I picked the letter up and scanned through it, my eyes growing wide as I read it. "Oh, no," I said. I got up from the Island just as Edward and Carlisle walked through the kitchen door.

"Hey, Alice, mom. Where's Bella?" Edward asked.

"Um, I'll go get her," I said. Folding the letter in half, I started for the kitchen door.

"Alice, could you tell Rosalie, Emmett and Jasper that supper's ready? And make sure that Elizabeth and Angie are still in one piece," Esme said.

I nodded. "Yeah, I will."

I stopped in the living room doorway long enough to tell the boys and Rosalie that supper was ready, and then I hurried off in the direction of the bathroom, where I assumed Bella was.

I knocked on the door softly, asking, "Bella?"

A noise came from within the bathroom, and I tried the doorknob. Thankfully, it was unlocked. I opened the door and looked in.

Bella's head was leaning over the toilet when I walked in, and I quickly and softly closed the door. I went over to her and pulled her hair back so it wouldn't get in the way.

When Bella pulled back a moment later, she flushed the toilet and leaned against the bathroom wall, her cheeks burning red from embarrassment. When she saw it was me who was kneeling in front of her, she looked away and down at the bathroom floor, tears shining in her eyes.

"Bella, you don't have to be embarrassed," I said softly.

She bit her lip, smiling just the littlest bit.

I unfolded the letter and held it out to Bella. "You need to tell someone about this."

Bella shook her head. "I can't."

"Bella, you need to. You just got a death threat! You have – no, _need_ – to tell somebody, starting with Edward," I said.

Bella shook her head. "I can't worry him. Now that he knows I'm pregnant, he's going to be insanely overprotective if he finds out about this. The dreams are enough for him to worry about."

I looked at her, my eyes wide with shock. "You still haven't told him?" She shook her head. "Bella, you _need_ to tell him. Tonight if possible."

Bella closed her eyes and sighed. "I just don't want him to get hurt because of me," she whispered.

I put my hand on her shoulder. "I know," I said, my voice soft. "But you need to tell him."

"I know I do," Bella whispered.

"You need to notify Charlie, too. He's a police officer; he'll know what to do if anything serious happens," I said. Bella nodded. "You need to show Edward the letter, too."

Bella nodded again.

I put my hand on the side of her face and gently moved her head so she was facing me.

"No matter what happens, Bella, we'll protect you. If that filthy, stinking, no good excuse of a father that man is wants to hurt you or Elizabeth – or the baby, for that matter –, I swear on my heart that he'll have to get through me first – and I know a few good karate moves that Emmett and Jasper taught me."

--

**Author's Note:**

**Happy 4th of July! Just a quick note - **

**So, the unknown POV has been revealed! The reviewers who guessed correctly who they thought the unknown POV was gets cookies - homemade chocolate chip cookies! **

**I hope everybody enjoyed the chapter! The next chapter should be up sometime next week. Next Chapter: Bella FINALLY tells Edward. This should be interesting.**

**Remember to review on your way out! Until Next Time: NerdyGuRu2**


	15. A Dream and A Talk

**Disclaimer: I do not own Twilight.**

--

Chapter Fourteen: A Dream and a Talk

(BPOV)

I was quiet the rest of the night. Numerous times Edward nudged me in the arm and whispered to me if I was alright. I always nodded and whispered back that I was fine, though he still looked unconvinced.

As I put Elizabeth into bed that night, I sung her the lullaby that I had been singing to her every night since she was born. When I finished singing it, a smile appeared on her lips as she whispered to me in a tired voice, "I love you, mommy."

Tears came to my eyes as I smiled back at her. "I love you, too, baby. I always will."

I kissed her on the forehead and said, "Goodnight my little angel." I plugged in the nightlight and softly then softly closed the door.

When I walked into Edward's and mine bedroom, I thought of the folded up letter that was in my pocket, feeling like it was burning a hole through my jeans. My palms began to get sweaty as I thought of what I would tell him, and I began to get all nervous.

"Bella?"

I whirled around and almost toppled over, but caught my balance. Standing in front of me was Edward, who had both hands firmly on my shoulders to steady me. "Yes?" I asked, my eyebrows rising a bit.

"Are you okay? You've been jumpy all night," he said. "In fact, you've been jumpy for a while."

_Tell him, tell him, tell him, tell him_, my mind screamed at me, urging me to spit it out.

I couldn't.

"Y-yes, I'm f-fine," I said, stumbling over my words. The letter was burning like white hot fire in my pocket, and I fought the urge to just rip it out and tear it up into tiny pieces.

Edward raised his eyebrows. "Are you sure?"

He looked me straight in the eyes and I could see, in the bright green of his eyes, that he truly was worried about me. I sighed and turned away, nodding. "I'm fine."

He caught my arm and turned me around. "Bella, you're not fine. Ever since we got back from Phoenix you've acted all weird and jumpy."

I placed my hand on the side of his face and looked him straight in the eye. "I swear, Edward, upon my life, that I will tell you. But not right now. I will soon, I promise."

"Do you promise?" he asked.

I nodded and tried to smile reassuringly. "I promise."

"Okay," he said, and placed his lips on mine.

00

_The sound of my footsteps echoed off the walls of the alley as I walked down it. I knew walking down dark alleys in Phoenix was always risky and dangerous, but it was a shortcut, and Renee had made me promise that I would get home before it got too late at night; she had been nervous about letting me stay home alone for a couple days, but I had assured her that I would be fine. _

_Behind me, there was a slight rustling noise and I whirled around to see what it was. Nobody was there. Not even the wind was blowing. _

_I shook my head and continued walking, rubbing in between my sweaty fingers the necklace that Edward had given me so many years ago. _Help me not to be afraid_, I prayed silently. I imagined that he was there next to me, protecting me from the darkness of the alley. _

_However, he wasn't able to protect me from _him_._

_All of a sudden, a strong pair of arms wrapped around my stomach, startling me. I started thrashing as the pair of arms pulled me through a doorway and into an abandoned building…._

_The image changed and I was in the same courtroom that I had been in five years earlier, where I had received the rights of full custody over Elizabeth. But the only thing different about the courtroom was that I was the only person in it. _

_And then _his_ face appeared and began talking, is voice sounding all eerie and creepy, making a tingle run down through my spine. _

"_I'll come back for you, just you wait."_

"No!"

I sat bolt upright in bed, breathing hard. My hands were shaking, and the back of my neck and forehead was damp from sweat.

A pair of arms wrapped around me and a voice whispered said that I was safe. When my breathing steadied and my heart slowed, he pulled me close to him and I buried my face in his shirt, silent tears leaking out of my eyes.

Edward's hand rubbed my back slowly and softly, whispering into my hair that everything was alright.

_No, no, everything is _not_ alright_, my mind kept screaming, and the tears came out faster and harder. _Everything isn't alright_.

My shoulders began to shake as I cried harder. I needed to tell Edward.

Now.

Before I exploded and everything that had been happening exploded and…I needed to tell him.

I tried to get control over my tears and when I eventually managed to, I pulled away from Edward's grasp and glanced at the clock. 4:05 a.m., it read. I sighed, wiping the tears from my eyes with the back of my hand.

"Edward, I need to tell you something," I said, sitting Indian style on the bed next to him. My brown hair fell around my shoulders as I looked down at my lap.

The motion of the bed indicated that he had sat up, but I didn't look up.

"Yes?" he asked.

I took a deep breath and said, "I have something I need to tell you, and I need you to stay calm."

Edward put his hand under my chin and lifted my face so I was looking at him. His face showed worry and confusion and that broke my heart even more. "Whatever it is, you can tell me," he said.

I bit my lip to keep the fresh flow of tears from erupting out of my tear ducts and looked down again.

"I don't exactly know how to tell you this, so I'm just going to start at the beginning," I said. "Do you remember that day we were at the amusement park in Phoenix, when Jasper and I volunteered to stay on the ground with the kids while the rest of you went up on the roller coaster?"

He nodded slowly, his eyebrows wrinkling together in confusion.

"Well, when we were sitting on that bench, a man walked up to us, and started asking questions about Lizzy," I said. My hands were beginning to sweat again, and I lifted a shaking hand to tuck some hair behind my left ear.

"I recognized him from the trial back before Lizzy was born, and somehow, Lizzy recognized him," I said. My voice was soft, yet shaky. I was avoiding the gaze of Edward, instead staring at my hands in my lap.

Edward lifted my chin again so that I was looking at him and said, "And who was this man that was at the trial and in Phoenix?"

When I didn't answer, he asked softly, "Bella, who was it?"

"Philip Stuartson, James Andrew Stuartson's brother," I whispered.

He stared at me for a second, a disbelieving look on his face. Then the look turned to realization. "Bella, how can you be sure?"

I bit my lip again and leaned over to the bedside table and took out the letter from the little drawer underneath it. Before handing it to Edward, I said, "This was delivered yesterday at your old house. When I got there yesterday, Esme gave it to me."

Edward took the folded letter and unfolded it. As he read the contents, his eyes grew wide with shock and anger.

When he finished reading the letter, he looked at me. "Who delivered this?"

"Philip," I whispered. "He's here, Edward. He followed us home from Phoenix. He's here in Washington."

"No," he said, shaking his head.

I nodded my head. "Yes, Edward."

He sat there, on the bed, breathing in and out hard. His eyes were closed and he pinched the bridge of his nose – something he always did when he was angry or trying to control his emotions. "Who else knows about all of this? That he showed up in Phoenix and that he's now here in Washington?" he asked, reopening his eyes.

"Only Alice knows," I said quietly.

"Does Charlie know?" he asked.

I silently shook my head.

Edward looked at me, shocked. "Why doesn't he know? Weren't you planning on telling him?"

"He doesn't know because I haven't told him yet. Alice told me to tell him, because if anything serious ever happens, he would know what to do," I said. "And no, I wasn't planning on telling him because he would be one more person who would be worrying _unnecessarily_ about me."

"Bella, you _need_ to tell him. You just got a death threat. You call that something that one shouldn't worry about?" he asked. "This isn't something you keep from somebody."

I narrowed my eyes slightly, hormones kicking in unintentionally. "You don't think I know that?"

He sighed. "Why didn't you tell me about all of this? We could have done something about it to prevent the death threat."

My eyes narrowed even more as hurt and anger flashed through them. "I didn't tell you for a few reasons. One, you were happy and too excited about the baby. Two, I knew that since you knew about the pregnancy, you would become way too overprotective and not allow me to leave the house. Three, I didn't tell you because I was scared to. And four, I was scared to tell you because I don't want you to get hurt because of me."

Tears were coming unbidden to my eyes and I wiped them away, frustrated, with the back of my hand. I was avoiding looking at Edward. When I looked back up at him, his face had softened, and he had a look of understanding.

I turned my gaze away from him, but the touch of Edward's hands on my shoulders made me look up. Tears brimmed in my eyes as I looked into his face.

"I'm sorry I didn't tell you sooner. I just didn't know when or how to tell you," I said.

Edward shook his head. "You've nothing to be sorry for. You're right; you probably were scared to tell me, and I understand that."

I shook my head. "Not 'probably were'. I _was_ scared to tell you."

Edward flashed me his famous crooked grin I loved so much. I knew he was trying to lighten up my mood, but it wasn't working. When he realized this, the grin faltered. He pulled me in for a hug. "I love you, Bella, and I promise that I will do everything in my power to keep _him_ from hurting you and our baby."

Tears rolled down my cheeks as I said, "I love you, too, Edward."

He pulled away and pressed his lips against mine. Like always, I melted into the kiss.

When we broke apart a moment later for air, I asked quietly, "What are we going to do now?"

"We need to show Charlie that letter and tell him everything that has been happening," he answered.

I nodded. "But what should I do about sending back a date and time for Elizabeth to meet her real grandparents?"

"Don't send back anything. And I swear that if that man hurts you because of you not sending anything back, then I swear I will kill him," he said. He began breathing hard again and balled and un-balled his hand into fists.

I placed a hand on his arm. He instantly relaxed. "If you kill him, Edward, you're going to get the full wrath of my pregnancy hormones, and you'll be sleeping on the couch for a million years to come. Sweetie, everything will be fine. I believe that he only added the death threat to scare me."

I added the last part just to reassure Edward – and myself – that everything would be okay. But why did I get the feeling that everything was _not_ going to be okay?

Edward smiled and pressed his lips softly to mine.

"I love you," he whispered.

"I love you, too," I said.

00

(JamPOV)

"It'd better be soon, Philly," I whispered into the phone, using my brother's old childhood nickname.

"It _will_ be soon, Jamie. I did everything you told me to do," he said.

I sighed with relief. "Good. Did she ever suspect you in Phoenix?"

"Not that I could tell. She didn't even notice me get on the plane after her. And I delivered the letter safely, with no suspicions."

"Good. What have you found out?" I asked. I was desperate to know everything I could – what school the little girl – my daughter – went to, where her mother worked. I wanted to know everything I could so that I could be prepared for when I arrived.

"The little girl's name is Elizabeth, and her mother owns a bookstore in town, _Wonderful Journey's Bookstore_," he answered.

A police officer stepped into the room just then and told me, "Times up, nutcase. Get off the phone."

"My times up," I told my brother.

"I'll be there soon, Jamie. I'm boarding a plane to Arizona as we speak," he said.

"Okay. Bye," I answered and hung up the phone.

_It will be soon, Isabella, dear,_ I thought as the police led me down the hall back to my holding cell, and a maniacal laugh erupted from the depth of my throat.

--

**Author's Note: **

**I hoped you all liked this chapter. It was really fun to write, especially the 'JamPOV'. Oh, and I have finally finished writing my term paper - I finished it at 2:05 this morning. I still have to edit it and such, but I managed to write it in 6 hours. **

**Just a quick warning: This story is going to be getting good within the next two chapters. Things are going to be pretty intense for a bit for Bella and her family. **

**Anyway, I need to post this now. Remember to review on your way out! Until Next Time: NerdyGuRu2 **

**SPOILER FOR NEXT CHAPTER**

**(You can ask about it)**

I must have fallen asleep because the next thing I knew, my eyes opened. My book was beside me on the bed, and the clock read 9:30 p.m. I sat up slowly, confused. I knew that I had been awoken by something, I just couldn't figure out what.

All of a sudden, there was a noise coming from the kitchen. A rattling sort of noise, and then a soft creaking. I got off the bed and went out of the bedroom. I walked as softly and quietly as I could.

I stifled a scream as I saw who was standing in the middle of my kitchen.

"Hello, Isabella. It's nice to see you again."


	16. An Unwelcomed Visitor

**Disclaimer: I do not own Twilight.**

--

Chapter Fifteen: An Unwelcomed Visitor

(EPOV)

I couldn't believe what Bella had just explained to me just hours before. There was no way that _he_ had followed us home to Washington. It was just… I didn't even know the words to describe it. All I felt was worry and fear for Bella and our unborn child.

But I knew Bella must be triple the amount I felt, even though she smiled and tried to seem like everything was okay, that everything would be fine.

I knew she was doing it to keep me from worrying too much about her and the baby, but how could I not? I mean, she had gotten a death threat. How could she possibly be so calm about that?

However, even though she showed calm on the outside, I knew she was probably terrified on the inside. I figured that eventually this would catch up with her, and then she would probably break down completely from mental exhaustion.

I tried not to show my emerging overprotective side, but as we walked toward the Forks police station, I held her close to my side with my arm wrapped around her shoulder. I wasn't about to let her out of my sight when I was with her; who knew what could happen.

We had dropped Elizabeth off at Alice and Jasper's house before walking over to the police station. Neither of us wanted her to know that her real uncle and supposedly her real father were back; she didn't even know that _I_ wasn't her real father.

The police officer at the front desk looked up as we entered through the double glass doors. Bella pulled away from me and walked up to the desk.

"Hi, Jeremy," she said as I walked up behind her. "Is my dad in?"

Jeremy nodded. "He's in a meeting right now, but I would say that he would be finished within the next couple minutes. You can wait in his office, if you'd like."

Bella nodded and said, "Thanks, Jeremy."

"No problem. Is, uh, everything okay?" he asked. "You look sort of unsettled."

Bella's smile faltered a little bit and she squeaked, "Yes, everything's okay." With that, she hurriedly waved good-bye and walked quickly to the left towards Charlie's office.

I threw a hurried smile at Jeremy and went after Bella.

We only had to wait a few minutes before Charlie came into his office. He smiled when he saw the two of us and said, "Hello, Bella, Edward. What can I do for you two today?"

Bella and I looked at each other, making Charlie's smile falter and be replaced by a worried frown.

"Is anything the matter? Is Elizabeth alright?" he asked, worried.

"Charlie, we have something to tell you," I said.

Charlie motioned to the two chairs in front of him and said, "Well, sit, sit."

When we were sitting down, he asked, "So, what is it that you need to tell me? Is it anything I should be worried about?" He sat forward in his chair and folded his hands on his desk.

I glanced at Bella. Her face had turned slightly pale. She looked at me and jerked her head slightly at Charlie, obviously wanting me to tell him. I shook my head, silently urging her with my eyes to tell him.

"What's going on, you two?" Charlie asked. "Please, tell me."

Bella took a deep breath and said, "Dad, a few weeks ago, I was in Phoenix with the rest of the family and, well…. Dad, he's back."

A confused expression settled across Charlie's face. "Who's back?"

Bella and I looked at each other again and Bella said, "The lawyer from the trial."

Charlie raised his eyebrows, a now skeptical expression on his face. "And what about this lawyer has you two looking so worried?"

Tears began filling Bella's eyes, and she bit her lip to keep from crying. She pulled the folded letter out of the pocket of her jeans and pushed it across the desk towards Charlie. "Just read it, and you'll understand."

Charlie looked at the two of us, then unfolded the letter and began reading it. All was silent for a moment while he read, and as he did so, his expression turned from worried to shock. When his eyes widened, I knew he had hit the part with the death threat.

Once he finished reading it, he placed it down on the desk and sat back in his chair and stared at the desk top at the letter, his arms folded across his chest.

"Bella, when did you receive this letter?" he asked finally.

"Yesterday," she said quietly, looking down at her lap.

"Who else knows about this?" asked Charlie.

Bella pointed at me and said, "Only Edward and Alice. Nobody else knows that he's here in Washington."

Charlie took a notepad and pen and began writing on it. "How long have you two known about this?"

"Well, she only told me at, like, 4:00 this morning. She's known for a few weeks, right?" I asked, looking over at Bella. She nodded.

"And why didn't you tell me, or Edward, when you found out?" Charlie asked.

Bella gave her father an incredulous look. "Dad, I didn't tell anyone because I was scared to. I didn't want anybody to get hurt if it _did_ turn out to be true." Her voice was starting to turn slightly hysterical, and I enclosed her hand in mine and started rubbing her hand with my thumb. It seemed to calm her down a bit.

Charlie let out a deep breath as Bella asked, "Is there anything you can do?"

He shook his head. "Sadly, there isn't anything we can do. We just have to wait and see if anything happens." We nodded. "But for now, just go home, and if anything else of serious matter does happen, then call me immediately, you got that?"

We nodded again.

"Okay," he said. He saw the tears that were beginning to slide slowly down Bella's cheeks and he added, "Everything will be alright, Bella. We won't let anything happen to you, or Elizabeth, or anybody else."

Bella nodded silently, looking at the edge of the desk. I put my arm around her shoulder and rubbed her arm with my hand.

Everything _would_ be alright…right?

The thought of losing Bella and our unborn baby was heart-wrenching and heart-breaking. I knew that if I lost both of them – including Elizabeth – I, along with everybody else, would never heal.

00

We were both silent as we walked to Alice and Jasper's house a few minutes later. I wrapped my arm around Bella's shoulders and kissed the top of her head. Her arms were wrapped protectively around her stomach, and she was staring at the ground while she walked.

I wanted to say something to her to make her feel better, anything, but the only problem was that I didn't know _what_ to say. All I knew was that she needed me more now than she ever did, even though she probably wasn't going to be admitting it any time soon.

"Why don't you go on home and I'll pick up Elizabeth?" she suggested, speaking for the first time.

I shook my head. "No, I'm going to stay with you. I don't like the idea of you walking about town with no one with you."

Bella looked at me. "Edward, it's only five minutes walking distance from the apartment, and there are plenty of people around. I'll be fine."

I shook my head again. "Not happening, Bella."

Bella sighed and didn't argue any further, knowing she couldn't persuade me.

We walked the rest of the way in silence. As soon as we were in front of their house, Bella pulled away from my grasp and walked up the walk way, up the steps and to the door. She knocked on it as I came up the steps as well.

"It's open!" we heard a voice from inside say. "But I warn you, there's man-eating monsters here!"

Bella opened the door and went inside, me following.

"Hey guys, that was quick," said Alice's voice as we entered the living room. There was a huge fort in the middle of it. A hand stuck out through a flap in the blankets and motioned for us to go in. "In here."

We looked at each other, shrugged and crawled through the flap.

"Nice fort, you guys," Bella said as Elizabeth crawled across the blanketed floor and onto Bella's lap. She kissed Elizabeth's forehead in a greeting.

"Thanks. Where'd you guys go?" asked Jasper.

"We went to see Charlie," Bella said. "How long did this fort take to build?"

"It was a whole week, mommy!" Elizabeth said, throwing her hands in the air and almost hitting Bella in the face. "We're in the Am'zon, hunting wild am'nals. It s'posed to be super secret, and nobody can know."

"Really?" Bella asked, feigning surprise. "And what type of animals are you hunting?"

"A four-legged, ferocious, man-eating, sharp-toothed _monster_! The _El Chuecacabra!_" Elizabeth said in a mysterious voice. "You'd better watch out, mommy, 'cause that's what Uncle Jasper and Aunt Alice said."

"That's right, Lizzy. It's going to eat you _alive! _Rawr!" Jasper said, and pretended to jump at Elizabeth, hands open like claws.

I didn't point out that the _El Chuecacabra _was in Mexico, not in the Amazon, but I figured what was the point of deflating Elizabeth's imagination?

Lizzy shrieked and hid her face in Bella's chest. "Mommy!"

Bella glared at Jasper and patted Elizabeth's back. "Thanks, Jasper. She's going to have nightmares tonight."

Alice shrugged and said, "I tried to stop him, but he insisted on telling the story, and _then_ he insisted on pretending to be the _El Chuecacabra_, making me and Lizzy the hunters!"

00

(BPOV)

The next day was Elizabeth's birthday. I tried to act happy for Elizabeth's sake, and I only just managed to hide it. Elizabeth was ridiculously excited about turning six years old, because that meant that she didn't have to ride in a car seat in the car, and she got to stay up an extra fifteen minutes.

We held a little birthday party for Elizabeth in the apartment. We invited all the Cullen's, Charlie, and Alex over for lunch, and had a little party and let Elizabeth open her gifts. It included a toy pop-gun from Emmett, which left me and the other woman of the family shaking our heads, wondering when Emmett was ever going to get a better sense.

Alice and I had decorated the cake and yet again, the boys had a cake eating contest, seeing who could eat the most pieces of cake. Alice, Rosalie, and I shook our heads at them when they said they had gotten a stomach ache from eating four pieces of cake each. Thankfully, we had baked two cakes.

It was four in the afternoon when everybody left.

Once we got the paper plates that had the remnants of cake on them cleared up and thrown away, and the rest of the place cleaned up, Edward and I sat back on the couch. The two girls had gone into Elizabeth's room and we could hear them playing their version of Candy Land.

I was reading _Oliver Twist_ when I felt Edward's hand rest itself gently on my stomach and began rubbing it.

I looked over at him, my eyebrows raised. "What are you doing?"

He grinned innocently. "I was just seeing if it would move."

I rolled my eyes, smiling. "You do know that it's not big enough to move yet, right? I mean, my stomach is still very flat."

He shrugged his shoulders. "You never know. Besides, I like doing that."

I chuckled, shaking my head and going back to my book."You are so weird sometimes, you know that?"

Two days later, a Tuesday, after supper, Edward got called into work for the night shift. He was a bit apprehensive about this, leaving me and Elizabeth alone at night. But after a moment of trying to convince him, he caved in and told me he would be back in the morning, though you could tell that he was a bit nervous about it.

He left, but not before I told him to bring me home some Ben & Jerry's Vanilla Ice Cream with hot dog relish. He raised his eyebrows in disgust but promised he would.

After I managed to put a hyper Elizabeth to bed, I grabbed my book from the living room and went into Edward's and mine bedroom.

I had to admit that even though I missed Edward, I sometimes liked the quiet when Edward was at work and Elizabeth was in bed. My hand drifted down to my still very flat stomach and I rubbed it gently and softly. I smiled. Even though the baby wasn't going to be here for several months, I couldn't wait to meet it, hold it in my arms, holding its warm little body close to mine.

I found myself beginning to talk in a soft voice to my stomach. "Everybody can't wait to meet you, you know? They're all excited, especially your Aunt Alice, and your daddy. I'll bet Elizabeth will be ecstatic to meet you. She's your older sister. She's turning six today."

I continued telling the baby about the different members of the family, continuing to rub my stomach.

I must have fallen asleep because the next thing I knew, my eyes opened. My book was beside me on the bed, and the clock read 9:30 p.m. I sat up slowly, confused. I knew that I had been awoken by something, I just couldn't figure out what.

All of a sudden, there was a noise coming from the kitchen. A rattling sort of noise, and then a soft creaking. I got off the bed and went out of the bedroom. I walked as softly and quietly as I could.

I stifled a scream as I saw who was standing in the middle of my kitchen.

"Hello, Isabella. It's nice to see you again."

--

**Author's Note:**

**He he he. I told you it would get dramatic. Just please don't kill me (dodges pitchforks, daggers, knives). My friend thought it would be a good idea and I couldn't resist the urge. Please don't kill me, because if you did, you wouldn't be able to find out what happens next. **

**Can anyone tell me if I spelt El Chuecacabra right? I wasn't sure, and my microsoft word didn't have any spelling suggestions for it. **

**Next Chapter: You'll just have to wait and see. He he. The next chapter should be up soon, depends on how fast I can write and if I decide to contiue to avoid math homework. Anyway, Remember to Review on your way out. Until Next Time, yours faithfully, NerdyGuRu2. **

--

**NEXT CHAPTER:**

"Alice, help! Please, it hurts so much!" Her voice was shaking, and I could hear her trying to muffle her sobs.

"Bella, just calm down and tell me what happened," I said. Fear was pulsing through my vains, and I dreaded the answer. _Please, please don't let it be him._

The fear then rose to a terrifying height when the answer never came.


	17. Attacked

**Disclaimer: I do not own Twilight, or Sherlock Holmes.**

--

Chapter Sixteen: Attacked

(BPOV)

"Hello, Isabella. It's nice to see you again."

I stood, paralyzed with fear, staring at the man standing not ten feet away from me. His mouth was twisted up in an evil looking grin, reminding me of the way he looked down at me on that night six years ago. It was him. He, who was Elizabeth's real father, was standing in my kitchen.

His menacing grin sent chills down my spine as thunder began to rumble and lightning began to flash, lighting the sky outside and illuminating the dim-lighted kitchen, making him look even more menacing.

"James Stuartson," I said, making my voice sound as brave as I could make it. I was debating whether or not to grab Elizabeth from her room and bolt, or see how long I could outlast the man in front of me.

Both were probably beyond stupid ideas.

Why did Edward have to go into work _tonight_ of all nights?

"What are you doing here?" I asked. "You're supposed to be in prison for three or so more years."

He made a step forward and I stepped back. He grinned. "I decided to pay a little visit to the mother of my daughter, the daughter I deserve to see."

"You don't deserve anything," I said. "The judge banned you from any right of custody, and from seeing her."

He laughed, a deep-throated evil laugh. "But you're wrong, sweetheart. I am not banned from seeing my daughter."

"That is true, but I am her mother and I decide whether or not I want her to see you." My voice was beginning to shake slightly.

James took another step forward, and I took another step backward. "And that conclusion would be?"

"I don't want you anywhere near her," I said. "I know the chief of police of this town and he'll hunt you down and send you straight back to prison and make sure you don't see the light of day again." I was getting scared now, I had to admit that, but I had to stand my ground.

He laughed again, sending chills down my spine. "So I hear that you've acquainted with my dear younger brother, is that correct?"

I didn't answer. A loud crack of thunder rang throughout the air, and lightning flashed at the same time. The storm was here.

James was coming closer now and I kept moving back. I was in the living room now, in front of the couch. Pretty soon I would be against the wall, meaning I wouldn't have anywhere to go. Meaning…I would be trapped. And pretty soon dead, if I wasn't careful.

"What do you want? Why are you here?" I finally asked. Tears were beginning to flow down my face, and I wiped them away with my hand.

"I want the girl," he said simply, losing the smile and replacing it with the most menacing look.

"No. You're not having her," I said.

"This can be done the easy way or the hard way. The letter did say that you would suffer the consequences if you did not reply with a date and time," James answered. "I'm just merely fulfilling the letters contents. Give me the girl."

"No," I said. As I continued to back up, I tripped over the end of my jeans and stumbled backwards, almost slamming myself unintentionally into the wall.

Thunder continued to rumble.

"Give me the girl, and you might get out of this alive. However, should you decide not to obey…." He chuckled evilly and brought out a switchblade out of his pocket.

I gulped.

_What should I do? _I thought.

James was coming closer, and I tried to back farther into the wall, but knew it was hopeless; I couldn't back up any further. What were those defense mechanisms Emmett and Jasper had taught Alice and I one Saturday, a couple months after Elizabeth had been born?

He was five feet away now.

"What's it going to be, sweetheart?" He was pulling the blade out of the handle now. Lightning flashed, making the blade flash against the light. "Handing over the girl, or suffering the consequences."

I gulped again.

Four feet…three feet…two feet.

I felt the blade against my neck and his breath against my cheek. The smell of his breath was so terrible, it triggered my senses, and I held my breath so as not to puke all over the living room floor.

James put his foot forward and kicked me in the shin – hard. I bit my lip, fighting the urge to scream out in pain. He grinned and brought the blade down to my arm. The blade dragged lightly down my arm, beginning halfway between wrist and elbow.

He dug deeper, this time actually making a cut.

Tears ran freely down my cheeks as I pleaded, "Please! Please stop!"

"This can go the easy way, or the hard way," he repeated. "Give me the girl, or die." His switchblade dug threateningly deeper and I bit my lip to keep from screaming.

And then his knee came in contact with my gut and I fell to the ground, clutching my stomach in pain.

I was sobbing now, tears streaming down my face.

James sneered and then knelt down in front of me. "That was for sending me to jail. I'll be back. You had better have come to your senses by then, and decided that you will give our daughter to me, with _no_ further arguments."

Then he stuck the switchblade in my leg, just above my ankle bone.

I had to bite my lip – hard. The pain was so intense – in my stomach and ankle – that it was making my vision all fuzzy, and my head immensely dizzy.

James wrenched the knife from my leg and stood. Without a word, he turned and went towards the kitchen. He paused in the doorway, turned around and said, "Until next time, Isabella."

And then he was gone.

00

(APOV)

Jasper and I were just cuddling on the couch in the living room, enjoying each other's company and watching television. Jasper's arm was wrapped around my shoulders, and I was leaning my head against his shoulder, playing with his blonde hair.

"I am sorry, but that person, my dear Jasper, has some serious need to get fashion sense advice. I mean, just _look_ at the leopard print tie!" I said, gesturing my hand toward the T.V.

"Alice, come on, he's an American in England. He's allowed to bring some _American_ fashion sense to England," Jasper said.

I shook my head. We were watching _The Hound of the Baskervilles_, and there was one guy who just irritated me. "His head disturbs me," I said. Jasper broke out laughing. "His hair _and_ his ears!"

"I'm sorry, Alice, but that was the style back then," Jasper said. "Now will you please stop criticizing the poor guys' fashion sense and just watch the movie?"

I sighed, frustrated, but nodded.

It was almost quarter to ten when the phone rang. I grabbed the remote and turned down the volume on the television as I reached for the phone on the coffee table. Wondering who would be calling this late at night, I looked at the caller ID and saw that it was Bella who was calling.

"Hello?"

"Alice!" Bella's voice – apart from sounding immensely relieved – seemed to crack, and it sounded like she was crying.

"Hi, Bella, what's up?" I asked.

She answered, but I couldn't hear what she was saying because her voice was shaking so much from crying, though I could have sworn I heard the words 'he's' and 'here'.

I looked at Jasper, my eyebrows knitted together in confusion. "I can't understand what you're saying, Bella. Repeat what you just said." I was starting to get scared; Bella sounded like she was in so much pain. What had happened?

I could tell she was terrified as she spoke. "Alice, help! Please, it hurts so much!" Her voice was shaking, and I could hear her trying to muffle her sobs.

"Bella, just calm down and tell me what happened," I said. Fear was pulsing through my veins now, and I dreaded the answer. _Please, please don't let it be him._

The fear then rose to a terrifying level when the answer never came.

"Bella? Bella?"

There was still no answer.

I pressed the off button and got up from the couch. "Jasper, we have to go. Bella's hurt." I grabbed my hoodie from the couch and hastily put it on. All that mattered now was getting to Bella and seeing if she was alright.

"Alice, what happened?" Jasper asked as he followed me to the front door.

"She wouldn't tell me what happened!" I said as we hurried through the door, slamming it shut behind us.

Outside, the weather was terrible. It was pouring buckets upon buckets of rain, and it was rumbling thunder and flashing lightning something terrible. We ran towards the car in the driveway, trying not to get soaking wet from the rain.

As we sped through the rain-drenched streets, Jasper asked me, "Would you mind telling me what's going on?"

"I don't know. All I know is that Bella's hurt, and from the way she sounded, it's not pretty," I said, trying desperately to get the image of Bella lying on the floor in pain, possibly unconscious. In the back of my mind, the image of the letter she had received just a few days before kept popping up to the front of my mind.

_Please, dear God, don't let it be James_, I pleaded silently.

We drove up to the bookstore and two split seconds later we were hurrying up the side stairs.

The side door was wide open, and it seemed as if that confirmed my worst fear.

"Oh, no," I muttered.

Lightning flashed around us as we ran through the door into the kitchen.

"Bella?" I called out.

There was no answer, just the sound of soft crying from somewhere in the apartment. We looked around and as my eyes traveled around the living room, I spotted a figure on the floor in front of the bookshelf.

Bella!

"Bella!"

Jasper and I ran over to her and knelt down beside her. I tapped the side of her face with my hand saying, "Come on, Bella, please don't be dead!"

"She's not. She's still breathing," Jasper said.

"Then why isn't she moving?" I asked.

"She's just unconscious. I suspect from the pain," Jasper said. "We have to get her to the hospital."

I nodded, tears filling up my eyes. _Please, Bella, don't fail on us. Live, please, _I pleaded silently as I helped Jasper pull her upright. And then I realized who the crying was coming from. "We forgot Elizabeth. Take Bella to the car and call Charlie, tell him that Bella's been attacked," I said. "I'll get Elizabeth."

Jasper nodded and I ran to Elizabeth's bedroom.

The door was closed, and I opened it and looked in.

"Lizzy?" The crying became faltered a bit. "Lizzy?" I asked again. I went over to the bed where the sound was coming from and looked under it.

Underneath, curled up in the corner was Elizabeth, clutching Mr. Scruffy tightly to her chest. When she saw that it was me, her crying faltered even more.

"You're alright, Lizzy. You're safe. Nothing's going to hurt you," I said. I held out my hands and she looked at them for a moment before crawling forward and allowing me to pull her out from under the bed. Even though she was six years old, she was pretty small for her age.

Within the next minute, I was carefully running down the steps to the car. Bella was laid across the seat in the back. Once I had my seat buckle on in the front of the car, I pulled Elizabeth up onto my lap as Jasper sped out of the driveway and down the street.

"She's going to be okay, right?" I asked, looking over at Jasper, whose foot was pushing as hard as he could on the gas pedal.

He looked at me and nodded, giving me a smile of encouragement. "She'll be fine, Alice," he said. "She's a strong fighter."

He was quiet for a few seconds before he asked, "Alice, do you know who did this to her? Does this have anything to do with why she's been so jumpy lately?"

I bit my lip. It wasn't my place to tell. It was Bella's. I looked down at Elizabeth was on my lap, her head buried against my chest. "I can't tell you, Jasper. But I have a feeling that I know who did this."

"Who?"

I bit my lip again. Jasper didn't know about what happened to Bella.

"I can't tell you. But you'll find out. And I promise that once you know, you can beat the heck out of him, because that man doesn't deserve to see the light of day. Let's just get Bella to the hospital."

_Help her to be okay_.

I knew, that if Bella died, none of us would ever heal.

--

**Author's Note:**

**Okay, here's another chapter. I'm surprised I actually finished it that quickly! You won't kill me right (clasps hands together in pleading)?**

**Have any of you seen Sherlock Holmes with Jeremy Brett? My best friend loves Sherlock Holmes and the one mentioned in this chapter, **_**The Hound of the Baskervilles**_**, I was watching that one with her and her mom the other day and one of the guys seriously has a leopard print tie and has serious issues with his hair. I actually made the comment 'His head disturbs me!'.**

**Anyway, hope you liked the chapter. I don't think I will be able to update again this weekend, but that may change. I seriously need to do a ton of math before I write any more. I will try though. Remember to Review, and tell me if the 'attack' scene was good, or it completely stunk. Until Next Time, NerdyGuRu2**

--

**NEXT CHAPTER:**

"Carlisle, please. Please tell me that she'll be alright," I said, looking my father straight in the eyes, searching for some answers as to whether or not my best friend would be alright.


	18. Pictures

**Disclaimer: **I do not own Twilight.

**Author's Note: Hello, everybody. Sorry for the delay. There's a longer explanation at the bottom. I hope you enjoy this chapter. It's probably **_**not**_** my best chapter, but I wanted to get this chapter out as soon as possible. Sorry if you notice any mistakes. **

**Oh, and the first POV of this chapter was originally Alice's, but I changed it to Carlisle's POV. This chapter isn't exactly happy, but it isn't intensely emotional either. Enjoy! :-)**

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Chapter Seventeen: Pictures

(CPOV)

Tonight had been unusually slow at the hospital. But then again, some things were still the same. Take Marletta Johnston, the night nurse in the ER, for instance.

As usual, as I stood at the admittance desk, looking through a patient's folder, she ogled at me. Like usual, she would batter her eyelashes at me, winking occasionally.

I found it rather annoying actually. Esme always said that it was good that I was happily married, with 5 kids, one daughter-in-law, two grandkids, and another grandchild on the way, or I would be being eaten by all the nurse staff, like a piece of prey being fought over by piranhas.

And it was the same with Edward. All the nurses ogled and stared at him, even the nurses who were older than him, which creeped both me and him out. I always told him that it was good that _he_ was happily married, with a kid, and another one on the way. He agreed with me.

So, that night was quiet.

Until a little after ten.

I was with a patient on the first floor, looking through the sleeping patient's clipboard. Just as I was walking back out the door, I heard the overhead speaker say, "_Dr. Cullen, please report to the ER_."

I wrinkled my eyebrows in confusion as I went to the elevator to go down to the ER.

As I entered the elevator, I saw Edward leaning against the back wall. "Hey, dad," he said as he saw me. "Ground floor?"

I nodded, and he pressed the button. He looked a little anxious about something. "Are you okay?" I asked.

He nodded. "I'm just a little worried about Bella, that's all."

"She has been alone for the night while you've worked at night before. What has you so worried?" I asked.

Edward let out a frustrated sigh and ran a hand through my hair. "I wish I could tell you, dad, but Bella and I haven't exactly discussed when to tell anybody else. Or, if to tell anybody else."

I raised my eyebrows. "What do you mean?"

The elevator doors opened then, and before us, standing at the front desk, stood Alice and Jasper. Both looked very worried. In Jasper's arms was…Bella! She looked like she was unconscious, and she was bleeding profusely from her arm and leg. There were dry tear marks on her cheeks, signifying that she had been crying.

Shock crossed Edward's and mine faces as we rushed over there.

"What happened?" we both asked.

"Bella was attacked," Alice said. "She called our place, said she was really hurt and by the time we got over to the apartment, she was unconscious." Tears were streaming down her face.

"Dang it. I knew this would happen," Edward muttered.

Jasper and I looked at him oddly, but Alice didn't seem confused by what Edward had just muttered.

Marletta, quickly assessing the situation, called over her shoulder, "Could we get a gurney over here please?"

Within two minutes, Bella was being laid on a bed, and then being wheeled down the hall toward the OR. Edward wanted to go with her, but I managed to convince him to stay with Alice, Jasper, and Elizabeth, who was in Alice's arms, sleeping. He did so, but did so reluctantly.

Just as I began to follow, Alice caught the back of my white doctor's coat and stopped me. Her eyes were flooded with tears.

"Carlisle, please. Please tell me that she'll be alright," she said, looking me straight in the eyes, searching for answers as to whether or not her best friend – and sister – would be alright.

"We'll do our best," I said, putting my hand on Alice's shoulder. "She'll be fine. Don't worry." My words were meant for all three of them – Alice, Jasper…Edward.

With that, I turned and followed the bed down the hall, determined in saving the life of my daughter-in-law, and grandchild.

(EPOV)

As soon as I saw Bella in Jasper's arms, unconscious, my worst nightmare was confirmed. There was a long gash on her arm, which was bleeding profusely, and then there was blood coming from her leg, just above her ankle.

An intense amount of worry and fear hit me in the chest like a dozen sharp rocks.

And then within the next three minutes, Bella was being loaded onto a gurney and being wheeled down the hall. Carlisle urged me to stay behind with Jasper, Alice, and Elizabeth. I so badly wanted to go with her, to be with her. She looked so…pained, even in unconsciousness.

It hurt me so bad.

Alice handed me Elizabeth as we sat down in the seats in the waiting area.

"What the heck happened, Alice?" I asked.

"She called out place and by the time we got there, she was unconscious," Alice said. "She was unconscious before she even had the chance to hang up the phone."

I ran a hand through my hair. "I knew this would happen. She just had to make me convince myself that she would be alright alone."

"Okay, can somebody fill me in on what is happening here?" asked Jasper.

"We need to call Charlie," I said in a quiet voice so as not to wake up Elizabeth.

"We already did. He wasn't at the station. The guy named Jeremy said he was at a police convention, but he said he would send a police officer over here and said that he would try to get a message through to Charlie," Jasper said.

I ran a hand through my hair again. Hopefully he would get the message soon. We had promised him that we would call him if anything serious happened.

And something serious _had_ happened.

_He _had attacked. _He _had _attacked_ Bella. I winced at my own thoughts.

"So, what do we do now?" Alice asked.

"I guess we should just wait for any news on Bella. In the meantime call everybody else and tell them what's happening," Jasper said. "I'm going to go wash the blood off my hands. I'll be back in a minute." He took off in the direction of the bathroom.

When he was out of earshot, I leaned my head back against the wall and, rubbing my hand slowly up and down Elizabeth's back, muttered, "This is all my fault."

Alice's head turned sharply toward me. "This isn't your fault. You couldn't have prevented this from happening."

I shook my head. "I should never have let her stay alone tonight."

"Edward, don't beat yourself up over this. It would have happened anyway," Alice said.

"I just wish I had been there to prevent her from getting hurt. Now look where she is – in the hospital, possibly fighting for her life," I said.

Alice shook her head. "She's going to be fine, Edward, stop thinking negative thoughts. It won't help any." Then her voice turned softer, and she added, "Do you want me to call everyone?"

I could only nod, afraid that if I opened my mouth, I would break down sobbing.

"She's going to be fine, Edward," Alice said, placing a hand on my shoulder. "At least Elizabeth is safe." And then she stood, grabbing her phone from her pocket. "I'll be right back."

Just then a police officer came through the revolving doors and came over to us. "Excuse me, are you Isabella Swan's family?"

We nodded.

"Do you mind if I ask you a couple questions?" he asked.

(APOV)

After the police officer asked the questions he needed to ask, he left and I told Edward I would be right back. I pulled my phone back out of my pocket as I walked down the hallway a bit and began dialing my old home phone. I listened as it rang once, twice before Esme picked it up and said, "Hello?"

"Hi, mom," I said. My voice was quavering a bit.

"Hi, sweetie, is everything alright?" she asked, noticing my quavering voice.

I took a deep breath and leaned against the wall. "It's Bella. She's…she's in the hospital."

I hear Esme's sharp intake of breath. "Is she alright?"

I closed my eyes as I leaned my head against the wall. "She was attacked. She called my house and when I asked her what had happened, she didn't answer, so I figured something was wrong. By the time Jasper and I got there, she was unconscious. We brought her straight to the hospital. Carlisle's in with her now."

"Oh, no," Esme said. "I'll be right there."

"Okay. Do you mind calling Emmett and Rosalie for me?" I asked. "I need to call someone else. Bella will probably kill me later for doing that, but I figured it's the least I can do."

"Okay. I'll call them, and we'll be there as soon as possible," Esme said.

"Thanks mom. Bye," I said and pressed the 'end call' button on my phone. I began dialing again. Oh, Bella was probably going to _kill_ me later for this, once she's mobile again. Did I care? No. It was probably none of my business, but I felt I needed to do this.

I listened to it ring one, two, three, four, five, six, seven, eight times before a groggy voice said, "Hello?"

"Hello, Mrs. Dwyer?" I asked.

"Yes, who's this?" she asked.

"This is Alice Cullen," I said.

"What do you think you're doing, calling at 1:30 in the morning?" Renee asked.

I cringed, forgetting that it was three hours ahead of time in Florida. "I'm really sorry for calling so late, but I just wanted to let you know your daughter is in the hospital, fighting for her life."

"What?" she asked.

"She was attacked earlier this evening by Elizabeth's real father," I said. Then in a kinder tone of voice, I said, "I think it would really mean a lot to her if you came here. I know you don't approve of her having a baby so early in her marriage, but she's really happy about this. It's probably none of my business, but I don't think it's such a good idea to isolate yourself from your only daughter just because she's having a baby."

With that, I snapped my phone shut. I couldn't help what I said to her. I was too worried about Bella.

I slid down the wall and sat on the linoleum floor. I pulled my legs up close to my chest and buried my face in my hands as my elbows rested on my knees.

_God, please let Bella be okay. Let the baby be okay, please_, I pleaded in my mind.

00

I finally made my way back to the emergency waiting room when I found my legs about twenty minutes later. Esme, Emmett, and Rosalie were there, Angie asleep in a car seat.

For the next half hour, we sat in the waiting room, not talking. Nobody really was in the mood to talk; everybody was beyond worried for Bella. Occasionally, I would glance up at the double doors that concealed what was behind them. Where Bella was, fighting for her life, and her child's.

It was one minute to eleven, when – out of sheer boredom – I glanced up at the television that was hanging down from the ceiling. Emmett and Rosalie and Esme were watching it, as well, to take their minds off the situation at hand.

The eleven o'clock news was just coming on. I wasn't exactly listening, just watching, but my ears perked up when the anchor woman said, "_Just four days ago, a man escaped from the Arizona State Prison. He had been arrested six years previous after being charged of raping an eighteen year old girl. He had been charged in earlier years for numerous thefts and taking part in numerous killings_."

My heart stopped as two mug shot pictures of him appeared on the screen. My eyes caught the name under it.

_James Stuartson_.

Elizabeth's father. I nudged Jasper's arm and pointed to the screen.

The anchorwoman continued. "_Police have been searching for him for three days, and are now sending out a nationwide search. People are urged to call the Arizona State Police immediately if they spot him. He is reported to be armed and highly dangerous. In other news_…." A number appeared at the bottom of the screen in bright, yellow numbers.

I glanced at Edward. He had frozen in his seat, glaring at the television screen. He seemed to be hugging Elizabeth tighter to his chest.

_He _was here. He _was_ here. He _was _here in Forks.

The thought made my heart clench fearfully, and I buried my face in Jasper's shoulder.

_God, watch over her. Protect her, please_.

--

**Author's Note:**

**dodges pitchforks and flying frying pans. I'm REALLY sorry for not updating sooner, and leaving you with a cliffhanger like that last chapter. It was really mean of me. But I wanted to wait to update until after I was finished with school. And guess what! I'm done with school! I have officially started my summer, which means you'll get updates more often. **

**I was thinking of writing a cliffhanger for the end of this chapter, but I decided to give you guys a break. I did say that things were going to get intense, did I not? After next chapter, the intense stuff will die down for a few chapters, just to forwarn you. **

**I need to end this Author's note here. I have to go sort my school papers by date and put them in a binder --sarcastically goes 'yippeee!'--. The next chapter should be out within the next couple of days. Until Next Time, NerdyGuRu2**

**--**

_**NEXT CHAPTER:**_

I placed my hand on Bella's stomach, and I allowed the tiniest of smiles to come to my lips.

"I love you, Bella," I breathed. "Please, stay with us."


	19. Faith Is All That It Takes

**Disclaimer: I do not own Twilight. I just own Elizabeth, Bella's Bookstore, and Philip, the guy I made up in my mind.**

**Author's Note: I am so sorry for the delay. I was working on another story of mine, and I finally finished it. And then I was busy reading Breaking Dawn all weekend. Does anyone else agree with me that it's such a great book? I haven't finished it yet, so DON'T tell me the ending. **

**Sorry this chapter is short, and sorry if it seems like it ended too soon. I hope you enjoy it. Don't forget to review!**

--

Chapter Eighteen: Faith Is All That It Takes

(EPOV)

The next few hours were nightmarish.

Bella remained unconscious. They had an IV stuck in her arm so she could get the nutrients she needed for herself and the baby. The baby – miraculously – was still alive. There was some internal bleeding, and slight damage to the umbilical cord, suggesting the person who had attacked her kneed her in the stomach.

It had been about two in the morning before we found out anything. Carlisle announced that Bella was now in stable condition, but still not conscious. We could all breathe better after that. Everybody went home at 2:30 a.m., including Carlisle. Carlisle had to force me to go home as well, and I did, but reluctantly.

I carried Elizabeth into her bedroom and laid her gently on the bed. I pulled the bed covers over her and brushed her brown hair out of her face.

And then her brown eyes opened, and she whispered, "Will mommy be okay?"

I smiled. "Mommy will be okay, baby. She will. The doctor's and Grandpa Carlisle will make her all better."

"Will the baby be okay?" she asked.

"I sure hope so, Lizzy. But let's just hope that everything will be alright with him or her. Get some sleep, okay?"

Elizabeth nodded, closing her eyes again and yawning the cute little yawn she'd had ever since she was a baby. "I love you, daddy."

I smiled, and kissed her forehead, staying there for a few seconds before pulling away. "Good night, baby, I love you, too."

Just as I was about to walk out the bedroom door, I stopped and turned around. Elizabeth had already fallen asleep. I gently picked her up from the bed and walked across the hall to Bella's and mine bedroom; there was no way I would be letting Elizabeth out of my sight after what had happened.

I placed her gently on the bed and pulled the covers over her. I quickly changed out of my doctor's clothes and into a pair of sweatpants and an old white T-shirt.

Then I got in between the covers and kissed Lizzy on the forehead once more, saying, "I'll always protect you. You'll always be my little girl."

About a half hour later, I got woken up by the sound of the phone ringing. I looked at the clock. Quarter past three in the morning. My hand fumbled for the portable phone that was sitting on the bedside table and, once I found it, pressed the on button and held it to my ear.

"Hello?" I asked.

"Edward?" It was Charlie.

"Yes," I said.

"Thank goodness. I just got the message. Is Bella alright?" Charlie asked, a hint of panic in his voice.

I rubbed my eyes as I sat up in the bed. "She's alright. She's still unconscious but she's now in stable condition."

"And the baby?"

"The baby's alright, too, thank goodness. There was a little bit of damage to the umbilical cord, and a little internal bleeding, but nothing life threatening," I said, looking over at Elizabeth who was sleeping peacefully, clutching Mr. Scruffy to her chest.

I heard Charlie let out a breath of relief. "That's good. What happened?"

I took a deep breath and said, "She was attacked. Alice and Jasper found her unconscious on the living room floor and brought her straight to the hospital."

"Do you know who attacked her?"

"I think I have a pretty good guess as to whom, Charlie. I just hope he's found and never able to see the light of day again," I said, my voice quiet – but full of anger – so as not to wake Elizabeth.

"We'll find whoever did this, Edward," Charlie said. "I got to go. Let me know if I can do anything."

"Alright. Bye, Charlie," I said, and pressed the off button.

00

For the next two days, Bella remained unconscious.

Everybody took turns sitting in Bella's hospital room, but I stayed there all day, until Alice or Emmett forced me to get out and get some food in myself. Carlisle convinced me to take the rest of the week off, and so I did, but rather reluctantly.

Three days after the attack, I was in Bella's hospital room, sitting beside her bed. It was about nine in the morning, and I had been there for almost an hour. I had just sat there, looking at Bella, thinking in my mind, _Come on, Bella. You can pull out of this. We know you can._ This thought was the only thought that kept me sane. Bella could pull through this. I knew she could. S was the strongest fighter I knew.

I found my eyes traveling down to Bella's stomach, where our baby lay. I could hear the fetal heart monitor beating along a rhythm, beating softly, weakly. _Beep…beep…beep...beep…beep._ I placed my hand on Bella's stomach, and I allowed the tiniest of smiles to come to my lips.

"I love you, Bella," I breathed. "Please, stay with us."

I clutched Bella's hand, as if pleading with her to not go, but to stay here with us, with her family. With me.

And then I felt it.

There was a slight movement of Bella's hand. I knew this instantly because my hand was over Bella's. I sat up straighter in my seat and looked Bella straight in the face, hoping to see some sign of movement.

Bella's hand weakly moved around my thumb, enclosing it in a weak grasp.

"Bella?" I whispered.

There was no movement for a long moment, and then I heard a soft, pained voice say, "Ed…ward?"

"I'm here, Bella," I said, my voice slightly louder this time. "Please stay with us."

"Edward." Bella's voice was a little stronger now, almost understandable.

"I'm right here. I'm not going anywhere," I said. "Can you hear me?"

And then Bella's eyes fluttered for a second, and then opened, revealing her chocolate brown eyes I loved so much. She looked around for a second, and then her gaze landed upon me, and a look of immense relief filled her heart-shaped face.

"Oh, Bella," I said, carefully throwing my arms around her. "You're alright."

"I'm alright, Edward," Bella whispered. "No need to worry about me. Oww…."

Immediately I sat back in my seat, worried that I had hurt her. Bella caught my expression and rolled her eyes. "I'm fine, Edward," she whispered. "The pain is finally registering in my brain, now that I'm awake. You don't have to worry so much about me."

I smiled and brushed her brown hair from her eyes. "Oh, Bella. You had us all so worried."

Bella's eyes widened and she whispered in a near-panic voice, "Is Elizabeth okay?"

I nodded. "She's alright."

She sighed in relief and then winced when she moved her bandaged arm just slightly. "How long have I been here?"

I was about to answer when Carlisle walked in through the door at that moment and answered for me. "You've been here for three days now. I'm glad to see you've finally woken up. How are you feeling?"

"Honestly?" Bella asked. Carlisle and I nodded. "Uh, well, I feel like I've been hit full on by a cement truck, followed by a trampling to the head by elephants feet."

Carlisle and I laughed.

"You've still got your sense of humor, I see," chuckled Carlisle.

Bella blushed, which lit up her pale, pain stricken face considerably. I smiled. I missed seeing that blush. And then she asked, "Will the baby be alright, Carlisle?"

Carlisle smiled, relief clearly showing in his eyes. "The baby will be perfectly fine. There was some internal bleeding, and slight damage to the umbilical cord, but we managed to repair that damage. Though, I assure you that the baby will be 100 perfectly fine."

Both Bella and I sighed in relief.

"Rest up, alright. I'll be back later to check on you," Carlisle said. He patted Bella's shoulder, smiled at the both of us and then left the room.

The room was silent for a moment, with the exception of the fetal heart monitor and the heart monitor, which were beeping in rhythmic beat. And then Bella lifted her hand up and placed it on my cheek. I kissed her hand and she smiled ever so softly.

"I'm sorry, Edward. I really am," she said.

My eyebrows wrinkled together in confusion. "What are you talking about? What have you to be sorry for?"

Bella placed her finger on my lips and said, "I should have told someone sooner. Then this could have been prevented, and you and the rest of the family wouldn't have had to go through the pain of knowing whether or not I would make it. I don't want to do that to you guys. If I had told Charlie or you sooner, I probably wouldn't be lying here in this hospital bed. Maybe if I had sent a reply back, maybe he wouldn't have done this."

I shook my head furiously. "You are not at fault, Bella. I'm the one who should be feeling guilty. I should have told the hospital that I wouldn't be able to come in to work."

Bella shook her head, but winced at the movement. "Edward, you had no choice. And I was perfectly fine."

"Perfectly fine?" I asked, fighting back a snort of indignation. "You're lying here in a hospital bed, Bella."

Bella closed her eyes, biting her lip as she looked down at her legs. Tears started to roll down her cheeks, and I brushed them away with my thumb.

"Hey, what's the matter?" I asked, gently pulling Bella's chin so that she was looking up at me. "There's something more to this, Bella, I know there is."

Bell shook her head, wiping her eyes with the back of her hand. "It's just so childish and pathetic sounding."

I placed my hands gently on either side of her face and looked her straight in the eyes. "Bella, nothing is going to sound pathetic. Look, you can tell me anything, you know that right?" She nodded, more tears filling her eyes. "Then you can tell me. I won't think it's pathetic."

She bit her lip again. She did that so often I wondered how she didn't have a permanent indentation in her lip. "I just don't want you to get hurt, Edward. He might come after you, Elizabeth, or the rest of the family until he gets what he wants – me and Elizabeth. He would go to great lengths to get his daughter."

I shook my head. "He will not come back for you. If he does, I'll be there to protect you from him. He's not going to take you, or Elizabeth. If he so much as gives you a paper cut, then I swear he will pay. I'll do everything in my power to protect you."

Once again, she bit her lip as a fresh wave of tears flooded down her cheeks. "I don't know why I'm getting so worked up about this," she whispered as she wiped at her cheeks.

I laughed. "You're pregnant, you have an excuse. And every other non-pregnant person would get worked up as well. Sweetheart, everything will be fine."

Bella's lips trembled as she said. "I guess you're right. But we still have no idea _when _everything will be fine."

I smiled. "I know. But what did you always use to say? Back before Elizabeth was born?"

Bella smiled a little. "One should never dwell on past experiences, just focus on the present."

I nodded. "That's right. That's what we should do. We just have to have faith that everything _will _turn out okay."

In agreement, Bella nodded as well and said, "Faith. That's all it takes."

--

**Author's Note:**

**Faith is all it takes. I hope everyone enjoyed the chapter. Sorry if it was a bit lame. I wanted to get this out as soon as I could. And finally, we don't have a cliffhanger. Ain't you proud of me? I thought I'd give you guys a break for a bit from the cliffhangers. None will happen for a few chapters. **

**Next Chapter: Bella's homecoming from the hospital; Jasper, Emmett, and Rosalie finally find out the truth of Bella's past life in Phoenix, and who attacked Bella. Should be fun to write. And two people in the litle group of friends have an announcement. What is it? You'll have to wait to find out. If I'm lucky enough, I'll be able to finish another chapter today, but I might not post it until tomorrow morning. **

**Remember to review on your way out! Until Next Time: NerdyGuRu2.**

--

**NEXT CHAPTER:**

As he spoke, Emmett's tone was aggrivated, yet curious. "Bella, I think it's about time you and Edward tell us what the heck has been happening these past few weeks."


	20. Guy Dressed in Black

**Disclaimer: **I do not own Twilight.

--

Chapter Nineteen: Guy Dressed in Black

(BPOV)

"Seriously, Edward, I'm not that fragile," I mumbled as he picked me up and started up the side stairs to the apartment.

I had been in the hospital for a week, recovering from the attack. I had tried to convince Carlisle to let me go home, but he refused, saying that it could be potentially dangerous; they wanted to wait and see if the umbilical cord of the baby would stay intact. And so, by the time I was released from the hospital at 5 a.m. Monday morning, I was glad to get out of there.

Edward chuckled. "I'm sorry, love, but Carlisle specifically said to not walk on your leg until you're completely comfortable with walking around on just the walking cast. Besides, you're too sleepy to function on your own enough to even walk."

I rolled my eyes under my closed lids. "I'm not tired," I mumbled into his chest.

I heard Alice laugh behind us and say, "Of course you're not, Bella. Why else would you have been falling asleep on my shoulder on the way home?"

Alright, so I was a little tired. I was pretty sure that I was blushing, but I didn't exactly care. Right now, I was just too comfortable in Edward's arms to think of anything else at the moment.

I guess I had dazed out for a moment because the next thing I knew, I was being set down on something cushy and beyond comfortable. I forced my heavy eyes open and saw that I was on the bed in Edward's and mine bedroom.

I snuggled myself into the pillow, falling into unconsciousness, but not before I felt his warm lips on my forehead.

00

"Mommy, mommy, mommy!"

I groaned as I felt the body of a little girl jump onto the bed and bounce right up next to me before she threw her arms around me. I winced as the pressure of my sweet six year olds hug made my arm hurt. "Hi, Lizzy," I said, struggling to sit up.

"Hey, Lizzy, what'd I say about not jumping onto the bed?"

Elizabeth giggled. "I'm sorry, daddy. Mommy's home!"

I laughed and Edward's lips pressed into a thin line; he was trying to hide his amusement, though I could see the end of his mouth twitch. "It's fine, Edward." I wrapped my arm around my daughter as Edward came to sit on the bed.

"Guess what, mommy!" Lizzy said.

"What?" I asked.

"I start 1st grade today!" she said excitedly.

Tears filled up my eyes. My baby was growing up so fast. I bit my lip to keep the tears from overflowing and spilling down my face, but it didn't work.

"What's wrong, mommy?" Elizabeth asked. Edward looked worried.

I smiled. "Nothing, sweetie. I just can't believe that my baby's growing up. You're growing up so fast, and pretty soon you'll be off to college and then you'll be on your own." I was getting too worked up over this – the fact my daughter was starting first grade. It would be years before she went to college, but I decided not to dwell on that fact.

"What's college?" Elizabeth asked.

Edward laughed, obviously relieved that the tears weren't ones of pain. "You'll find out once you're older. But right now, you're supposed to be getting ready for school."

Elizabeth smiled sheepishly and said, "Alright. Is mommy taking me to school today?"

I looked toward Edward, who was shaking his head. "Mommy is going to be off her feet for a while. But she will be able to take you to school soon."

Elizabeth sighed, but smiled and kissed me on my cheek saying, "I'll be back soon, mommy. Will you be better when I get back, and you can take me to school tomorrow?"

I smiled and hugged her. "I'm getting better by the minute." Truth be told, my ankle was killing me from where James had stabbed it, my arm was still throbbing slightly, and my stomach was a bit sore. But hey, what was the point of wounding Elizabeth's hopes for me getting better within a day?

Elizabeth hopped off the bed and waved good-bye before going out the door, her brown hair bouncing up and down slightly as she walked.

I found Edward's lips on mine. Like always, I melted into the kiss. He pulled away after a few seconds and said, "I'm going to be taking Elizabeth to school and then I'll be back right after. And you, you don't move from that spot."

I rolled my eyes. "I'm not that fragile, Edward," I said, repeating the words I had said to him this morning.

"I know. But with your clumsiness and that cast of yours, what are the percentages of you tripping and falling flat on your face, thus further damaging your arm or breaking your neck?" he asked.

I rolled my eyes again. "Alright, alright. But could I at least go to the bathroom?" My bladder felt like it was going to explode. The second worst downside of pregnancy – besides the morning sickness – was that you had to go to the bathroom. A lot.

Edward laughed and held out an arm in offer to help me up.

(EPOV)

Three days later, September 13, was Bella's 24th birthday. Bella, Alice, Jasper, Emmett, Rosalie, and I decided we would all get together and have a movie night - something we hadn't done in a long time. I thought this would be best, because I didn't want Bella moving about a lot, even though she insisted she was fine at walking around; the cast on her leg wasn't that big, thankfully, so she had an easy time walking around, as she always argued. I eventually caved in, but still confined her to the couch, only allowing her to walk to the bathroom.

The morning of her birthday, I woke her by gently shaking her shoulder.

"Hey," she said sleepily.

"Hey, yourself. Happy birthday," I said, holding out a single, beautiful red rose. She gasped lightly and took it gently between her fingers, smiling.

"Thanks, Edward," she said, leaning in and placing her lips on mine. When she leaned away a second later, she said, "It's beautiful. Where'd you get it?"

"Supermarket in town. Got up early to get it," I said. She laughed, and then winced when she lifted her bandaged arm to run a hand through her hair. "How're you feeling? Do you still hurt?"

She shrugged. "I'm fine. I've felt pain worse than this. In gym once when I was fifteen, they made us run around the track field – which, you may note, is a huge track field – six times. By the time we were done, I was absolutely so sick to my stomach and I absolutely couldn't move the next day."

I laughed. "Sounds like you had a fun time. Gym never was your forte."

00

Later that day, about 7:30 that night, Bella, Emmett, Rosalie, and I were sitting in the living room. Elizabeth was playing with Angie on the carpeted floor. It was amazing how careful Elizabeth was with Angie. I could tell that she would be great with the new baby.

We were all waiting for Jasper and Alice to show up. They had called and said that they would be there very soon, saying that they had some very exciting news to tell us. Of course, none of us knew what the surprise could possibly be, but Emmett and I had some suspicion as to what they were going to tell us.

Currently, Emmett was trying to persuade Bella to let him sign her cast.

"Okay, you have got to get this signed," Emmett said, patting Bella's cast with his huge hand.

Bella rolled her eyes, wincing. "And why do you want to sign this thing? It's black. Nothing can show up on it, unless you plan on writing with neon glitter glue."

"Alright, but will you at least let me put this sticker on it?" Emmett asked, holding up a bright neon green sticker with the word 'PEACE' written on it in huge black letters.

Bella giggled, blinking. "It's very bright," she said as Emmett peeled it off the paper and then stuck it on top of her foot.

Rosalie nodded her head. "You should have seen the display of stickers he was looking at. It made my head hurt just looking at them."

Jasper and Alice knocked on the door just then and came through it. They had massive grins on their faces, and looked extremely happy. "Hey, guys!" Alice said as they came over.

"Hey. So, what's this big announcement you guys said you had?" Rosalie asked.

"Well…" Alice said. She looked up at Jasper and said, "Do you want to tell them?"

"Tell us what?" Bella asked, her beautiful face wrinkling together in confusion cutely, though there was a hint of a smile on her lips.

Grinning broadly, Jasper and Alice announced together, "We're getting married!"

The next four minutes were full of shouts of congratulations and excited cheering. Alice danced around the room with Rosalie, squealing happily before going over to the couch to hug Bella tightly. Emmett and I shook hands and clapped Jasper on the back in congratulatory. Elizabeth danced around us, asking us why we were so happy.

By the time we all settled down enough, it was eight o'clock, meaning it was time for Lizzy to go to bed and the movie to start. While Emmett and Jasper got the movie ready, I carried Elizabeth – who was looking pretty sleepy – into her bedroom. Thankfully, she was already in her pajamas, so all I had to do was lay her on the bed.

"Night, Lizzy," I whispered, kissing her forehead.

"Night, daddy," she mumbled sleepily and curled Mr. Scruffy closer to her chest.

The movie – so generously picked by Alice and Rosalie – turned out to be a romance movie, of all things. More specifically, it was _Titanic_, the movie Bella, Alice, and Rosalie loved with all their hearts.

Of course, Bella cried – silently, thank goodness – and I wiped her tears away with my thumb as she leaned into my chest.

Near the end of the movie, I glanced down at Bella. She was leaning against my chest with my arms wrapped around her. Her leg was propped up on a cushion footstool with a pillow under her foot. She looked incredibly comfortable. Her eyes were beginning to droop with tiredness. I smiled; she looked cute when she was tired.

A thunderstorm was beginning to rage outside; thunder was starting to rumble softly and you could hear the rain start to pick up to a steady pour.

And then it happened.

A loud bang from downstairs along with a loud rumble of thunder made us all jump about a foot in the air, and jerk Bella back into a state of consciousness.

"What in the world was that?" Alice asked.

"It sounded like it came from downstairs," Emmett said.

Elizabeth came out of her room just then. "What was that big noise?" she asked, climbing onto the couch in between Bella and Alice.

"I have no idea. I'm gonna go check it out," I said. I grabbed a flashlight from the kitchen and started for the living room door that lead downstairs. Emmett and Jasper got up as well and followed me.

"We'll be right back. Don't move," I said to the girls, who now were all on the couch, Angie included.

Emmett, Jasper, and I quietly walked down the stairs, making sure to not make a sound. Downstairs, everything seemed in order, from what we could tell in the darkness of the bookshop. We walked quickly and quietly through the rows of bookstores, but found no one there.

"Hey, Edward," Jasper whispered, motioning Emmett and I over to the front door of the bookshop. He pointed to the lock on the door and said, "The lock's broken. Someone must have broken in."

We heard a sudden shuffled coming from the back room. We looked at each other and hurried back there. As we were, a figure dressed in all black hurried past us, almost knocking s over on his way to the door.

"Hey!" I call after him. "Stop!"

The man didn't. He hurried through the bookshop door, leaving it wide open, and disappeared into the blackened, rain-drenched street. We looked at each other and bolted for the doorway, running out into the pouring rain and down the sidewalk, chasing the guy dressed in black.

It was no use trying to catch him.

The girl's eyes widened when we trudged through the door into the living room, soaking wet.

"What in the world happened down there?" Rosalie asked as Alice went to get us towels to dry ourselves off. "We heard a shout from one of you guys. Did someone try to break in or something?"

Bella's eyes widened in fear when we nodded. "Oh, no," she mumbled, and hugged Lizzy tighter to her. Alice came back with the towels and handed them to us.

I went over to the phone and grabbed it and began dialing Forks Police Station.

Charlie arrived within two minutes. He asked Emmett, Jasper, and I some questions about what happened downstairs. Then he left again, saying that he would send out a search party for whoever had broken into the bookshop.

Everyone was quiet for a moment before Alice asked, "Who would break into a bookstore? And for what?"

Fear shone in Bella's eyes more brightly, and tears began to well up in her eyes. I went over to her and sat down next to her again, pulling her close to me. I had dried off, so I wasn't nearly as wet as I had been.

As he spoke, Emmett's tone was aggravated, yet curious. "Bella, I think it's about time you and Edward tell us what the heck has been happening these past few weeks."

Bella and I glanced at each other as everyone – Alice, Rose, Jasper, and Emmett (Elizabeth had fallen asleep again) – turned to look at us. A tear escaped Bella's eyes and it rolled down her cheek. She brushed it away with the back of her hand, obviously frustrated.

(BPOV)

I let out a deep, resigned sigh, knowing that I couldn't keep it from them any longer. "You guys might want to sit down," I said. They did, looking confused.

"About two weeks before I moved back here to Forks, I was walking home from the place where I worked and I got pulled…into an abandoned building," I said. My voice was quiet, and tears were burning in my eyes, but I refused to let them go. I was avoiding everyone's gaze, not able to meet them. "I…uh, I was…raped." I said the last word so low it was a whisper, that it was amazing they even heard it.

Emmett, Jasper, and Rosalie gasped. "What?!"

"I'm not done yet. The ending result of…what happened…was Lizzy," I said, motioning to the sleeping six year old in my arms.

"So Lizzy's father is some old dude?" Emmett asked. "Man, I thought it was some boy from your high school in Phoenix."

I shook my head. "The guy got sent to prison for eight years," I continued, my voice quiet. Edward squeezed me tighter to his chest and Alice linked her arm through mine.

"Serves him right," Jasper and Emmett murmured together, earning a slap on the back of the head from Alice and Rosalie.

"Jasper, do you remember that day you and I were sitting on that bench at the amusement park in Phoenix? Remember the guy who came up to us?" I asked. He nodded. "That was Lizzy's real uncle, Philip Michael Stuartson, James Andrew Stuartson's brother."

Emmett's eyes widened in understanding. "So that's why you wouldn't let us suggest the names James and Andrew when we were helping you name Elizabeth, wasn't it?"

I nodded silently. Then I continued. "Last weekend, I got a letter from Philip, telling me if I didn't let Lizzy meet her real grandparents, me, Lizzy, and the rest of our family…would…die."

"What?!" Emmett exclaimed. "Alright, where is that little weasel? I'm gonna punch the living daylights outta him."

"I'm with you on that one," Jasper and Edward said.

I threw exasperated looks at them before continuing. "I didn't send a reply back. Want to know the consequences of not replying to a death threat? A stabbed leg and a wrist that was cut with a switchblade." My voice was now full of anger – anger directed at James. I glared tiredly at the carpeted Living Room floor.

"Bella, who attacked you?" Jasper asked, his question making me look up at him.

_They were not going to like this_. "James Stuartson," I said.

"The dude we saw on the eleven o'clock news last Tuesday?" Emmett asked.

I raised my eyebrows. "What?"

"I'll tell you later," Edward said.

"So, let me get this straight," Emmett said. "Six years ago, you were raped by this James Stuartson guy, and it resulted in the sweetest six year old one could ever imagine parenting. Then six years later, he's broken out of jail and is now trying to hurt you and Lizzy?" I nodded grimly. "That dude has some serious social and mental issues, if he's taken part in numerous psycho killings."

Alice leaned forward and slapped a hand over Emmett's mouth. "Will you shut up? Bella has enough to worry about without knowing he's a psychotic killer!"

Alice took her hand away and Emmett said, "Sorry, Bella."

"S'alright," I said, waving it away with my hand.

"So, that's the real reason you came home, huh?" Jasper asked.

I nodded.

00

Before Jasper and Alice left after Emmett, Rosalie, and Angie, Alice sat down next to me on the couch and wrapped her arms around me.

"Interesting birthday, wasn't it?" she asked.

I smiled tiredly, half-heartedly. "Yeah. Interesting."

"Everything's going to get better, Bella, I am sure of it. He'll go back to jail," she said.

"_If_ he's caught," I said, looking down at my lap, emphasizing the word 'if'.

Alice's hand lifted my chin up and turned it so she was looking right at me. "Don't talk like that, Bella. He'll be caught. He'll go back to prison and you can finally be able to breathe better and you'll be able to relax. If he ever tries to hurt you again, he is going to end up in the deepest, darkest area of a trench somewhere in the darkest planet of the universe."

I laughed and put my arm around her. "You're the best sister and friend one could have, you know?"

She grinned. "Right back at you, sister. Happy birthday."

"Thanks," I said.

"Oh, I want you and Rosalie to be my maids of honor at the wedding. You both mean a lot to me, and I couldn't think of anyone else better," Alice said.

I smiled and hugged her. "Of course I'll be your maid of honor."

She grinned and hugged me, careful of my arm. "Thank you. This is going to be _so_ much fun, Bella, planning the wedding!"

I laughed, rolling my eyes. "Oh, boy."

Alice just giggled innocently.

--

**Author's Note:**

**Hello, again! Hope everybody liked this chapter. And there wasn't a cliffhanger! Yeah! So the truth is fianlly out to everyone, and Alice and Jasper are getting married! I was surprised that a lot of you thought it was Rosalie and Emmett with the announcement. Next chapter should be out today, depending on if I can get it written and edited before 10:00 tonight. My dad is home this weekend, so the next chapter might not be out tonight. Don't count on it. **

**Remember to review! Until Next Time: NerdyGuRu2**

--

**NEXT CHAPTER:**

"Hi, this is Dr. Frank Worthington from Jacksonville General Hospital. I'm sorry to be disturbing you so late. I'm sorry to inform you that there has been an accident involving your mother and father."

My breathing caught as I sat up. "What?"


	21. Saddened Expressions

**Disclaimer: **I do not own Twilight.

**Author's Note: Yay! Another chapter! I'm really sorry if it seems like it ended too soon, but I needed to end it. **

**Sorry, but I **_**had**_** to put a **_**little **_**drama in to the chapter, but I promise there won't be any drama for a couple chapters. Enjoy the chapter! :-)**

--

Chapter Twenty: Saddened Expressions

(BPOV)

_The sound of my footsteps echoed off the walls of the alley as I walked down it. I knew walking down dark alleys in Phoenix was always risky and dangerous, but it was a shortcut, and Renee had made me promise that I would get home before it got too late at night; she had been nervous about letting me stay home alone for a couple days, but I had assured her that I would be fine._

_Behind me, there was a slight rustling noise and I whirled around to see what it was. Nobody was there. Not even the wind was blowing. _

_I shook my head and continued walking, rubbing in between my sweaty fingers the necklace that Edward had given me so many years ago. _Help me not to be afraid_, I prayed silently. I imagined that he was there next to me, protecting me from the darkness of the alley. _

_However, he wasn't able to protect me from _him.

_All of a sudden, a strong pair of arms wrapped around my stomach, starling me. I started thrashing as the pair of arms pulled me through a doorway and into an abandoned building…._

_The image changed, and I was in the same courtroom that I had been in before Elizabeth was born, where I had received the rights of full custody over Elizabeth. But the only thing different about the courtroom was that I was the only person in it. _

_And then _his_ face appeared and began talking, his voice sounding all creepy and eerie, making a tingle run down through my spine. _

"_I'll come back for you, just you wait."_

_I squeezed my eyes shut, wishing I could wake up. I opened my eyes again, and the scene had changed again. _

_I was now in the middle of the living room. He was approaching me, switchblade poised and ready to strike. He laughed an evil sounding laugh. Tears were beginning to slide fast down my face as he said, "I warned you there would be consequences if you chose not to obey." His eyes flashed as he –_

I was shaken awake. My eyes opened as I bolted upright, breathing hard, ragged breaths. Tears were pouring down my face. I felt someone pull me against their chest, and I resisted against it, though to no avail.

"Shh, it's only me," said the soft, angelic, and melodic voice of Edward.

I relaxed slowly and collapsed down against Edward's chest. "Oh, Edward."

"Shh, it's okay. I'm here. You're safe," he said. "It was just a dream."

The dreams had been happening ever since I had come home from the hospital three days ago. After what had happened, the dreams had really intensified, making it seem life-like. I was thankful that I had gotten a break from the dreams in the hospital, because the medicine they gave me had knocked me into a dreamless sleep.

Once I calmed down several moments later, I felt Edward's arms tighten their hold against me. "What were you dreaming about this time?" he murmured into my hair.

I buried my face in his chest and said, "The same thing, only at the end he was standing in front of me in the living room, his switchblade poised and ready." I shuddered at the image in my mind that seemed be implanting itself in there.

Edward pulled me closer to him. "I wish there was some way I could make these dreams stop from irritating you so much that you're deprived from sleeping."

I sighed. "I wish there was some way, too."

We sat in silence in the darkness for a moment. It was so silent that we jumped about half a foot in the air when we suddenly heard the phone ring.

"Who in the world would be calling this early in the morning?" I mumbled to myself, rolling over to flip the switch on the bed side lamp and grabbing the portable phone off the hook. As I did so, I glanced at the clock. It read 5:45 a.m. Who in the world was calling this early?

"Hello?" I said as I leaned back into Edward's embrace.

"Isabella Cullen?" asked an unfamiliar voice.

"Yes, this is she," I said.

The male voice on the other end was an elderly, very kind sounding voice. "Hi, this is Dr. Frank Worthington from Jacksonville General Hospital. I'm sorry to be disturbing you so late, but I'm afraid that there's been an accident involving your mother and father."

My breathing caught as I sat up. "What?"

"Your mother and father were…in an accident earlier this morning. They were brought in about an hour ago," said. Dr. Worthington.

This was not happening. I couldn't take any more stress in my life. I could feel the tears begin to burn behind my eyes as I asked, "Are they okay?"

"Your father is fine. He only got a gash on his forehead and a fractured wrist. He's doing perfectly fine, and he should be able to go home within the next couple of hours. Your mother, on the other hand, hit her head against the windshield of the car. Her neck was broken, and she has a small fracture to the membrane in her wrist," Dr. Worthington said.

"Oh, my gosh," I said. "Will she be okay?"

"She should be fine. She'll only need to stay in the hospital for a week, but after that, she'll be free to go home," he answered.

"Thank you, Dr. Worthington," I said.

"You're welcome. Good-bye, now."

"Bye." I pressed the off button and let the phone fall onto my lap. Tears began to fall down my cheeks as I felt my stomach begin to churn slightly.

"Bella?" Edward asked, seeing the tears slowly falling down my cheeks. His hand rubbed up and down my back comfortingly. "Bella, what happened? Take deep breaths, sweetheart."

I was on the verge of going into a full-fledged panic attack, so I took Edward's instructions and took a few deep breaths. This only made my stomach churn worse and I pushed the covers off of me and managed to stumble out the bedroom door and down the hall to the bathroom.

(EPOV)

I watched as Bella hurriedly pushed the covers back and manage to stumble out of the bedroom with a hand clamped tightly over her mouth. The bathroom door slammed shut a few seconds later. I got off the bed and followed after her.

Bella was hunched over the toilet when I poked my head through the bathroom door. I went over to her and held her hair back so it wouldn't get in the way. She stayed like that for a couple moments before resting her head on her arm against the seat.

"What happened, Bella? Who was on the phone?" I asked softly as I pulled her back and flushed the toilet and closed the lid.

She rested her cheek against my chest as I rubbed her back. "Renee and Phil…" she blubbered, her shoulders shaking with contained sobs. "Car accident."

We sat on the floor of the bathroom like that – Bella crying into my shoulder and me rubbing her back – for several minutes. Once Bella had calmed down enough, she took a couple deep breaths to steady her breathing.

"I'm sorry for being so emotional," she said, reaching a hand up to wipe her eyes.

I shook my head. "You have an excuse. Now, who was on the phone?"

Bella took another deep breath and said, "Jacksonville General Hospital."

I looked down at her. "Why were they calling?"

"Renee and Phil...they were in a car accident," she whispered.

"What? Are they okay?" I asked.

Bella nodded. "They're okay. Phil's got a gash on the forehead and a fractured wrist, and he should be able to go home within a couple hours, but Renee's head bashed against the windshield. She broke her neck, and she has a small fracture to the membrane in her wrist," she said, more tears leaking out of her eyes. "Oh, Edward, it could have been so much worse."

I hugged her close to me again and said against the top of her head, "I know, Bella. But they're fine. And that's all that matters."

I couldn't imagine what Bella would have done if they had been killed. It would have put even more stress on her than what she already had. She didn't need any more stress in her life, especially now, when…_James_…was after her, and she was recovering from an attack _James_ had made. She was immensely worried for the safety of Elizabeth, me, and the baby, and everyone else we both loved and who meant dearly to us.

I couldn't bear seeing her go through any more pain.

I didn't want to see her get hurt anymore; too much stress often resulted in a miscarriage.

For another fifteen minutes, I held Bella close to me, whispering into the top of her head that everything was alright.

(BPOV)

It was quarter of seven before I finally fully calmed down. After my stomach decided to empty itself once more, Edward helped me up from the bathroom floor and walked me back to the bedroom. We heard the phone ringing as we entered the bedroom, and Edward dug the phone out from between the covers of the bed. "Hello?"

I was silent as I grabbed a pair of jeans and a shirt from my dresser while Edward talked on the phone. I caught snippets of the conversation between Edward and whoever was on the other line.

"Of course we will…. No, that's not necessary…. Yes. Okay, we'll call you," Edward said. When he hung up, he said, "That was Phil."

"Oh?"

"Yeah. He told me that Renee wants to speak to us in person," he said.

I raised my eyebrows. "Why in person?"

"I guess it's something that she needs to tell you in person, not over phone or e-mail," he said.

"When?" I asked, wrinkling my eyebrows together in confusion.

"As soon as possible," he answered. "He already checked the flight schedule from Washington to Jacksonville, and there is a plane leaving this morning at 11:00, our time. He said that Renee needs to see us, and that it's important that we do."

"Renee wants to see us?" I asked. "But why?"

He shrugged. "I don't know, love. All I know is that Renee wants to see us in person. That's all Phil told me."

I sighed resignedly. "Then I guess we have no choice but to go." I had to admit that I did want to see my mother, no matter how mad I was at her.

He nodded, smiling. "We don't really have a choice. I'll go call the airlines." He kissed me on the forehead and then on my lips, lingering on them for several seconds. "They're fine, Bella. After all, it could have been a whole lot worse, and you feeling a whole lot guiltier."

I glared at him, narrowing my eyes. "Who said I was feeling guilty?" I asked, blushing through my glare.

He laughed. "You know I know you too good, love," he said.

00

Edward spent the next forty-five minutes on the phone with the airlines while I gave myself the traditional (well, in my case) sponge bath (I also had to live with washing my hair in the sink) I had done ever since I had come home from the hospital three days earlier. I had managed to convince my overly protective yet charming husband to let me do it myself, but he still hovered near the bathroom. Carlisle had told me I only had to keep the cast on my leg for another week, and then we could use ace bandages and gauze; when he said this, I was so happy.

As Edward was pushing the off button on the phone, a sudden thought popped up into my brain.

"What are we going to do with Elizabeth?" I asked.

We pondered over that fact for a few minutes before we decided to ask Alice and Jasper if Elizabeth could stay with them for the night while we were in Jacksonville. I was worried that asking if Elizabeth could say with them would be rude, but Edward laughed and said, "You worry way too much, Bella. They won't mind."

And so I called up Alice and told her what had happened and if Elizabeth could stay with her and Jasper for the night.

"Of course she can, Bella," Alice asked. "I'm so sorry to hear about Renee and Phil. Are they going to be alright?"

"Yeah, they will. Phil was lucky; however, I can't say the same for Renee. But they'll both be fine, thank goodness," I said.

We talked for a couple moments longer, going over what would happen. Lizzy would be taken to school by Edward, and then Alice would pick her up when school let out, since Edward and I would be on our way to Florida.

I thanked her again, apologized again for such short notice, hung up, and then went to wake Lizzy.

(EPOV)

I took Lizzy to school at quarter past eight. Bella had packed Mr. Scruffy, a pair of her pajamas and a clean pair of clothes for Lizzy into a cloth bag for her to take to Alice and Jasper's.

As we stopped in front of the first grade classroom door, I squatted down in front of Lizzy as she asked, "Will you pick me up like you always do?"

I shook my head. "No, Aunt Alice will be the one picking you up this afternoon. You're going to be staying with her and Uncle Jasper for the night."

"Where are you and mommy going to be?" she asked as she took the cloth bag with her cloths I held out to her.

"Mommy and I have to visit your Grandma Renee and Grandpa Phil in Florida, but I promise that we will be back tomorrow night," I said.

"Okay," she said. She hugged me and added, "Bye, daddy, I love you."

"Love you, too, Lizzy," I said and hugged her tightly to my chest for a moment.

As I was making some coffee for myself and decaffeinated tea for Bella, Bella sat down at the computer in the living room and typed a quick e-mail to Charlie explaining what had happened and that we would be gone until tomorrow night.

Within the next hour, we were driving the long drive to Port Angeles. Bella was silent as we rode. So quiet that I had to keep glancing over at her to make sure she was still alive and breathing. She was staring out the window.

"Hey, you okay?" I asked.

Bella broke out of her reverie and asked, "Hmm?"

I laughed quietly. "Are you okay? You're awfully quiet."

Bella nodded. "I'm fine."

It was silent for the rest of the drive, with the exception of Claire de Lune flowing softly through the speakers. For the rest of the drive, there was a saddened, yet relief filled expression on Bella's face.

--

**Author's note:**

**So, another chapter ends. Aren't you glad Renee and Phil are okay? I am. I was debating whether to kill Renee and Phil off or not, but decided not to because that would add even more stress to Bella's plate. And look, another non-cliffie chapter! I'm so proud of myself. Anyway, next chapter: Bella and Edward visit Renee in the hospital, and Bella gets odd cravings! I can't garuntee you that the chapter will be long, but I'll do my best. I already have some of it written, so it should be posted within the next day or so. **

**Remember to Review (You Know You Want To). Until Next Time: NerdyGuRu2**

--

**NEXT CHAPTER:**

"Are you ready?" I murmured to Edward as he grasped my hand.

"Are _you_ ready?" he asked.

"As ready as I'll ever be," I said. Edward chuckled and reached up to knock on the frame of the hospital room door.


	22. Apologies

**Disclaimer: **I do not own Twilight. Just this plot line.

**Author's Note: Hello again! I know this chapter is short, but there really wasn't much I could add to it to make it longer. But I hope you like it! Remember to Review at the end!**

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Chapter Twenty-one: Apologies

(BPOV)

It was a six hour straight flight from Port Angeles to Jacksonville. During the whole flight we were silent, both absorbed in our own thoughts. Sometime during the flight I had fallen asleep on Edward's shoulder with an arm wrapped around my stomach protectively, like I thought I would lose the baby if I didn't keep a hold on it.

At one point before I had fallen asleep, I had murmured sleepily to Edward, "I hope Lizzy's doing alright."

He chuckled and answered, "I'm sure she's fine, Bella."

When the plane landed, we grabbed our bags from the baggage claim and called a taxi cab. We told the driver – who said his name was Juan – to go to a hotel nearest to Jacksonville General Hospital. Along the way, Juan pointed out the sights that were worth looking at. Only Edward enjoyed them; I just sat there, silent, throwing a smile in at the proper moments.

After we checked in at the Sheraton Jacksonville Hotel, we took the taxi to Jacksonville General Hospital.

We thanked the taxi driver as he stopped in front of the hospital and paid him, then walked into the hospital. As we approached the front desk, the receptionist looked up and asked, "May I help you?"

"Can we have the room number of Renee Dwyer, please?" Edward asked.

The receptionist shuffled through some papers on the desk for a moment before saying, "Room 310, Level 3."

As we walked through the halls of Level 3, searching for room 310, I looked around at the number of nurses and doctors in different colored scrubs, going to and from different patient's rooms. We passed a couple of beds on the sides of the hallway with people with oxygen masks and IVs strapped to their arms.

After walking down 3 different hallways, we found room 310 halfway down the third hallway. The door was open about an inch and a half. We stopped in front of the door and stood there for a second, looking at it.

"Are you ready?" I murmured to Edward as he grasped my hand.

"Are _you_ ready?" he asked.

"As ready as _I'll_ ever be," I said. Edward chuckled and reached up to knock on the frame of the hospital room door. We walked into the room when we heard someone call "Come in" in a quiet voice.

Renee was lying in the hospital bed when we entered. If I told you that she was perfectly fine and looking good, it would be a downright lie. There were a lot of little cuts that covered her face and her neck was bound in one of those neck braces. Tears were once again brought to my eyes as soon as I looked at her. Phil didn't look too bad, however. His arm was wrapped up in a white cast from the fingers to his elbow, and there was a patch of white gauze on his forehead. He was sitting in a chair next to the bed.

"Hello, Phil, Renee," Edward said as he approached the bed. I stayed near the door, not wanting to get any closer.

"Edward," Phil said as he stood and shook hands with Edward with his good hand. "Hello, Bella."

"Hi, Phil," I said, not moving from my spot near the door.

"I'm so glad you came," Phil said.

And then Renee spoke. Her voice was scratchy sounding. "Bella," she said.

"Mom," I said.

With a motion of her hand, she motioned for Edward and I – me especially – to come closer to the bed. "Come closer, Bella. I'm not going to bite."

Once I had managed to make myself move forward, everyone was in an awkward silence for about two minutes before Renee broke it by saying, "I am so glad you decided to come. I wasn't too sure if you would come, considering the rather…upsetting departure we took when we were in Forks."

"We would have come, mom," I said, "even if we hadn't had that disagreement." My voice was quiet, and my arms were folded across my stomach as I looked down at the floor. I think that if I looked at Renee for longer than a few seconds, I would break down.

Once again, we lapsed into silence. After a moment, Phil said he was going to go get himself a cup of coffee, and quietly excused himself.

After a moment, I asked, "So, how are you feeling, mom?"

"I feel like I've been dropped from a thirty story building – head first. The doctors say that I should be well enough to go home within a week and a half, but I should still take it easy and stay home," she said.

"That's a good thing to do," Edward said.

"Bella, Edward, I owe you two an apology," Renee said. She motioned to the other two chairs on the opposite side of her hospital bed and told us to sit. We obliged. I was thankful for the chair; my leg was beginning to hurt from too much walking.

"I've thought a lot about what happened between you two and I, and I feel guilty about what I said to you. I've known you, Edward, for several years, and I know that you're a good man. Before I saw how you acted with Elizabeth at the wedding, I doubted your parenting abilities. But now, I realize that you know what you're getting yourself into, and I am sorry for the way I acted.

"Bella, I've seen you as well with Elizabeth, and now I know that you'll be able to handle another kid. I don't doubt your parenting abilities, either. I realize what I said to you that night was childish, and I want to apologize for it," Renee said. "I want to be a part of your life again, and I don't want to cut off contact with you two and Elizabeth completely – especially with my new grandchild. Will you accept my apology?"

Edward and I looked at each other, then back at Renee. "We accept your apology, Renee," Edward said. I reached forward and hugged my mother, finally able to smile just a little bit.

As I was pulling back from her, Renee asked, "Now, what happened to your leg?"

Edward and I glanced at each other, our small smiles faltering a bit. Our eyes told each other that we were both thinking the same thing. _Should we tell Renee_?

"Did something happen? I distinctly remember getting a phone call at 1:30 in the morning about two weeks ago or something like that from your sister, Edward. She said something about Lizzy's real father," Renee said.

I looked at Renee. "Alice called you?" Renee nodded. Oh, I was going to kill her when I got back home.

"Bella…was…attacked by…Lizzy's father," Edward said, not really sure as to which words to say.

Renee gasped. "What? I thought he was in jail."

"He escaped," I whispered, keeping my gaze upon the tiled floor of the room.

00

It took Edward and me about half an hour to calm Renee down. We finally threatened her that if she didn't calm down, we would call in the nurse to give her medicine to knock her out into a nice, dreamless sleep. Finally, she calmed down and fell asleep, and Phil – who had come back about fifteen minutes previous – invited us to join him for supper down in the hospital cafeteria. Of course, we couldn't say no, so we accepted.

"I am so glad that you guys came when you did," Phil said as we headed over to a table, each with a tray of food; well, Phil and Edward had food, but I just got a muffin, not very hungry.

As we sat down, he added, "After I told her that you two were coming down to here, Renee couldn't stop worrying about if whether or not you two would accept her apology."

"We would have come anyway, as we said earlier," Edward said.

I picked at my muffin as I listened to Edward and Phil talk. I zoned in and out, sitting back in the chair, looking at the small, square, pale gray table top. It wasn't until Phil asked me a question that I snapped back to attention.

"So what's with the cast on your leg, Bella?" he asked.

I looked down at the black cast that covered half of my lower leg and foot with my toes sticking out at the end. The walking shoe was strapped to my foot. "Oh, uh…" I trailed off. I didn't like talking about what happened.

Edward picked up. "Bella was attacked a couple weeks ago, by Lizzy's real father."

Phil raised his eyebrows. "I thought he was supposed to be in jail?"

"He was, but he escaped a few weeks ago," Edward answered. His voice was full of bitterness and a bit of anger – towards James.

"That's no good," Phil said.

Edward and I shook our heads. "No, it isn't. It's downright no good," I said, laying an arm protectively over my stomach, something that'd become a habit. Edward grabbed my hand and started rubbing the back of it with his thumb, sensing that I was getting to the verge of an emotional breakdown.

"Do you think he'll be caught?" Phil asked.

When we didn't answer, Phil sensed that it was the end of that conversation. I was glad – I didn't want to talk about it any longer; it was sending me into a low and mellow mood.

Phil changed the subject. "Renee really is happy about being a grandmother again, I can assure you."

Edward and I smiled at each other. "And we're really happy, too," we said with sincerity.

00

Later that night, we were back in the hotel room. We were snuggled up on the bed together watching a movie.

Sometime during the middle of the movie, Edward found himself rubbing my stomach. This had become a habit of his at night before we went to bed, him rubbing my stomach and kissing it good-night, which always made me giggle uncontrollably.

I giggled and said, "That tickles, you know."

He laughed. "I like doing it." He grinned then, and added, "I can't wait 'til the baby can move."

I smiled. "I can't wait either. It's the most amazing feeling to know someone _inside_ you is kicking you, even though it is sometimes annoying when the baby kicks all your inside organs like crazy. I remember that Elizabeth sure liked to do that."

Sometime near the end of the movie, we heard the sound of a stomach growling. The hospital food we had eaten – though I had eaten about three bites of the muffin – at the hospital hadn't been very good, and it hadn't been exactly filling either.

Edward laughed. "I'm hungry," he said, stating the obvious. "I have to admit that the hospital food wasn't too great."

I giggled. "Do you know what I _really_ want right now?"

"What? Whatever it is must sound really good, according to the dreamy look that is on your face right now," he said.

I nodded enthusiastically, pulling the phone book from the table next to the phone. "Pizza with sardines, bacon, and pepperoni. I wonder if there are any good pizza places nearby that are open this late."

Edward gagged. "Sardines? Bacon? Pepperoni? All on one pizza? Are you really sure you'd be able to stomach that? It sounds disgusting. How about we get it on half?"

"What? It sounds delicious," I defended myself.

Edward shook his head, chuckling and taking the phone book I handed to him.

We ordered a small pizza from one of the nearby pizza places, and Edward asked if they could put the sardines, bacon, and pepperoni on just half of the pizza. When the pizza arrived twenty minutes later, we played another movie on the T.V. and settled back, eating the pizza.

As I took a bite of a piece of the sardines, bacon, and pepperoni side of the pizza, Edward scrunched up his face in distaste.

"Man, Bella. How can you think that tastes good?" he asked as he took a bite of a piece of the plain cheese side of the pizza. "I mean, you don't even _like_ sardines."

I shrugged. "I know I don't like sardines, but I was craving them all of a sudden." I was silent for a second, chewing thoughtfully. "You know," I added, "it's actually not too bad tasting. Go on, have a bite." I offered the piece of pizza to Edward, but he shook his head.

"No, thanks. I think I'll stick to the cheese pizza," he said.

I shrugged again as I finished the first piece and reached for another.

Shaking his head, Edward muttered, "You are _so_ going to be sick later tonight, I can guarantee it."

--

**Author's Note:**

**Yet another chapter ends. Once again, I apologize for the shortness. But hey, at least Renee and Bella made up. That's always a good thing. **

**The next chapter is halfway written. I've started on the third page, so I might be able to put it up tonight. Depends on how quiet the house is and how fast I can write and think at the same time. Hehe. Next Chapter: Our favorite little family have a fun family outing...finally. He he. Should be fun to write. Might be longer than this chapter, might not. I haven't really been on many family outings that end up fun. Anyway...**

**Remember to Review please! (They're greatly appreciated and they make me in a happy mood) Until Next Time, NerdyGuRu2**

--

**NEXT CHAPTER:**

I raised my eyebrows at him. "You're trying to see if you can slowly bribe me into telling you what's bugging me, aren't you?"

Edward grinned. "Maybe. Is it working?"


	23. A Stress Free Afternoon

**Disclaimer: **I do not own Twilight.

**Author's Note: Hello, again! I just want to thank all my reviewers! Over 500 reviews total! I was so happy when I saw that review number this morning! It made me happy all day. Anyway, Read and Review! I Love Reviews (They make me happy and squeal internally, and make me write faster)! Enjoy the chapter!**

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Chapter Twenty-two: A Stress Free Afternoon

(BPOV)

_Crack, bang, boom! _

I sat bolt upright in bed, taking deep breaths to calm myself. I put a hand to my chest to calm my racing heart and looked at the clock.4:44 a.m. I sighed and fell back against the pillows. There was a deep snore from the other side of the bed and I looked over at Edward.

I shook my head. How in the world could he sleep through this?

Something snuggled closer to me and I looked down to see Elizabeth, who was curled up in between Edward and me. When had she gotten there? Oh, that's right – I had brought her in before Edward and I had gone to sleep; after what had happened, I didn't like her out of my sight, with the exception of school.

I sighed and got up, careful not to wake either Edward or Elizabeth.

Glad that I now had my cast off, I easily walked into the living room and sat down on the couch, turning the T.V. on and turning the volume down low.

It had been a week and a half since Phil and Renee's accident. Surprisingly, I our life was actually peaceful after that. Neither James nor his brother had bothered us, and both Edward and I were grateful for that, though I still had nightmares of that night six years ago, and the night James attacked me in the living room. Two days earlier, I had gotten my cast off, but I still had gauze and an Ace Bandage on it. It still hurt if I walked too long on it, but other than that it was perfectly fine. Sure, I was probably going to have an everlasting scar on my leg, but who cared? I was just glad I got my cast off.

Edward had finally allowed me to work down in the bookshop again about two days after we got back from Jacksonville. I was very glad about this; I missed working in the bookshop. The only catch was that he had told me to stay sitting as much as possible if I didn't have to move around.

My hand drifted to my stomach, and I smiled as I rubbed it up and down. I was now three months pregnant, and it was only if you ran a hand over it that you could tell an extremely small, hardly noticeable bump was there. You couldn't see it in the mirror, but you could feel it with your hand.

I couldn't wait until the baby started moving. Then it would be even more real.

A rumbled of thunder cracked through the air again, two spilt seconds after a flash of lightning.

The 5 a.m. news came on just then, and I settled down to watch that, having nothing else to do. I was beginning to fall asleep again near the end of the news; I was getting too comfy in the cushions.

And then the last report came on, unfortunately catching my attention.

"_A couple and their young girl were attacked in their home in Port Angeles last night. The couple was left for dead, but the young girl survived. The young girl was not able to identify the intruder. Police are not yet releasing names, and believe it to be a break-in and the attacker killed the couple in his defense. That's it for the morning report. We'll see back here at 12. See you then." _

It cut to commercial.

I was wide awake now, staring at the T.V. My hand fumbled for the remote. Once I found it I clicked off the television, still too shocked to move.

Distraction. I needed a distraction.

I got up from the couch and went across to the kitchen and began searching through the cupboards and refrigerator. In the cupboards I found a bag of scone mix and a bag of chocolate chips. Hmm…chocolate chip scones. It sounded heavenly at the moment, a perfect distraction from the news report I had just seen. And so, I pre-heated the oven and grabbed all of the ingredients.

Just as I was cutting the dough into triangles on the greased pan, I heard the shower start up and I knew Edward was awake.

The scones were just about done when Edward came into the kitchen, his auburn-bronze hair wet from the shower and dressed in his hospital clothes. He came over and kissed me, to which I melted into. When he pulled away he said, "Good morning. What are you doing up so early?"

I shrugged. "I couldn't sleep. I made some scones, want some scones?" I was surprised to find my voice squeaky. I laughed a little nervous laugh and turned away from him just as the timer on the oven dinged. I opened the oven door to take the sheet out.

"You're making scones at quarter to six in the morning?" he asked as I set the pan on the stove.

I shrugged again. "I was bored and I needed a distraction." Darn that squeaky voice.

"Are you…okay?" he asked, raising his eyebrows up questioningly. "You seem a bit…off…this morning. Is something bothering you?"

Not trusting my squeaky voice, I quickly shook my head and grabbed a spatula from the counter. "Fine. I'm fine, perfectly fine!" I grabbed a plate from the cupboard and began scooping the scones onto the plate, avoiding the gaze of Edward.

I felt a pair of arms wrap around me, and a hand gently taking hold of my hand, grabbing hold of the spatula and gently prying it away from my fingers. And then he turned me around so I was facing him.

"Bella, love, what's wrong?" he asked, and his voice was gentle and soft.

I shook my head. "It's nothing, Edward," I said, equally soft. "I'm fine. I'm just tired, I guess. I didn't sleep too great last night."

Another crack of thunder rumbled through the air, and I jumped slightly. I turned my head slightly and looked down at the tiled kitchen floor.

"Bella, what is it?" he asked. He gently took hold of my face in his hand and turned it so I was facing him.

"Edward…," I said.

"Bella…. Please, Bella, tell me. I know you too well to know when you're hiding something from me, something that you don't want me to know about. Now what is it? You were perfectly fine when we went to bed last night," he said.

I sighed. Wanting him to drop the subject, I said, "You know, it was probably just… the dream that I had last night. That's probably what is making me all mellow this morning, and why I am up at quarter to six in the morning making scones." I motioned toward the scones.

Edward raised his eyebrows. "Okay…," he said slowly, still unconvinced. "I'm going to work, okay? How about after Lizzy goes to bed tonight, you and I settle down and watch a movie with a bowl of popcorn – just the two of us?"

I raised my eyebrows at him. "You're trying to see if you can slowly bribe me into telling you what's bugging me, aren't you?"

Edward grinned. "Maybe. Is it working?"

Sighing and knowing I had no choice but to tell him, I said, "There was a report on the news this morning about a family who got attacked last night. The man and woman were murdered…but the little girl survived. You're going to be late for work. Scone?"

"The hospital can survive without me for a few minutes," he said. "Why did this report bother you so much, Bella?"

"I don't know! That little girl was orphaned, Edward," I said, tears filling my eyes. "Maybe that's why it bothered me so much. Little girls should never get their parents taken away from them so suddenly when they're so young. The poor girl is going to have to be put into foster care or an orphanage. That's terrible!"

"Bella, Bella," he said, taking my face in his hands. "I'm sure the little girl will be alright. Listen, I'll be out of work at 1:30. It's a Saturday, and the bookshop is only open for half the day on Saturdays, so how about you, Lizzy, and I take off for the afternoon when I get out of work and go to Port Angeles?"

"Tempting, I guess," I said, smiling a bit.

Edward grinned. "So, it's a date? Schedule already cleared?"

I nodded. "It's a date. Alice wanted me to continue wedding plans with her, but I actually managed to convince her to take the day off from wedding planning. It gave me a stress-free afternoon."

Edward looked astonished. "How in the _world_ did you manage to get her to take the day off?"

I smiled. "I have no idea, but I think it involved three huge cinnamon buns and a promise for me to help her _all day_ the next day."

"You go girl," said Edward and kissed me on the lips. "Bye."

"Bye," I said. "Oh, wait. Here's a scone." I grabbed a scone from the plate and placed it on a napkin and handed it to Edward.

"Thanks," he said. He kissed me again and, within the next two minutes, was out the door.

00

"Holy moly," Edward exclaimed as we stepped out of the bakery. "This pretzel is amazing! How come they didn't put this bakery in before years ago?"

I laughed as I took a bite of my own pretzel. "These pretzels are pretty amazing. What do you think, Lizzy?"

"They're really good," she agreed, taking a bite of her pretzel. There was cinnamon all over her face.

I giggled and grabbed my camera from my hoodie pocket. "Hey, Lizzy, hold still for a moment." She turned and grinned widely at the camera while I snapped a picture. When I was done, she wiped her mouth with the back of her hand.

"So, where should we go next?" Edward said.

"Hmm…Lizzy, where should we go next?" I asked.

Lizzy shrugged her shoulders. "I don't know."

We had been roaming around Port Angeles mall for about an hour and a half, finally deciding to stop at the bakery place, where they had the best cinnamon sugar pretzels imaginable. We had been window shopping, going into stores and looking around and just having a good time – something I never would have thought possible in a mall (at least to me, that was). My feet and leg were beginning to hurt a little from all the walking, and my back was getting a little sore – Edward was so giving me a foot rub when we got back home.

In the end, we decided to walking around a little bit more (we still had about half the mall left), and then heading back to Forks and picking a pizza up on the way home for supper.

Elizabeth was telling us about how her and Alex had played a game of tag with a couple of girls their age on the school playground yesterday, when she bumped into Angela Weber, who was coming out of the store Aeropostale as we passed it. Ben, her boyfriend, was next to her.

"Oh, sorry!" Elizabeth squeaked, and hid behind me.

"That's alright," Angela giggled. "Hi, guys. We didn't expect to run into you guys here. How've you been?"

"Good," Edward and I said simultaneously. "How've you guys been? We haven't talked in a while." Edward asked.

"Yeah, it's been too long," Angela said. "So what brings you guys here to the mall on this rainy Saturday?"

"We decided to take the afternoon off and come here," Edward said.

Angela smiled. "It is always good to have a day off."

"So, what's been going on with you guys?" Ben asked.

Edward and I looked at each other, our smiles growing bigger. I nudged Edward in the rib slightly, and he seemed to get the point. "We're having a baby," he said, his smile growing into a grin.

Angela and Ben's mouths opened in surprise and then turned into wide smiles. "Oh, my gosh, really?" Angela asked. We nodded, and I blushed, smiling. Angela squealed and hugged me, and Ben shook hands with Edward, and then Elizabeth, who smiled shyly up at him and then hid herself behind my legs again.

"Congratulations, you two," Angela said. "When are you due? Do you know what you're having yet?"

"March 6," I said. "And no, we don't know yet."

"Aww, congratulations," Angela said and hugged me again.

"Hey, Ang, sorry to interrupt, but we gotta go, remember?" Ben asked.

"Oh, that's right. It's the twin's birthday today. We have to go if we want to make it back to Forks in time," Angela said. "We'll see you guys around town."

"Bye guys," Ben said as they waved and started towards the exit. "Congratulations, again."

"Thanks," I called after them.

We watched them walk away and then Edward said, "So, where now?"

00

Forty-five minutes later, we decided upon heading back to Forks. We picked a pizza up on the way back and a movie (Toy Story) from the movie rental store. Soon, we were all back home, starting the movie and settling back to watch it and eat the pizza.

About half way through the movie, at a little after 8, Lizzy – who was sitting in between Edward and I on the couch – yawned her cute little yawn that she'd had since she was born. I laughed and asked, "Getting tired there, Lizzy?" She nodded. "Well, it's time for you to go to bed, anyways. Why don't you go brush your teeth and I'll come tuck you in a moment, alright?"

"Okay, mommy. Good night, daddy," she said. She kissed Edward on the cheek and got off the couch and went to go brush her teeth.

When I came back out after putting Elizabeth to bed, I sat down beside Edward, who wrapped his arms around me as I cuddled up next to him.

"So that was a nice stress-free afternoon, was it not?" Edward asked.

I giggled. "It was very nice. I haven't felt so happy in a long time. Nor so relaxed. Or so exhausted."

Edward laughed and kissed the top of my head. "I love you, Bella."

I smiled and snuggled closer as we watched the animated toys on the screen run across the room. "I love you, too, Edward."

--

**Author's Note:**

**Yes, a nice stress-free afternoon is always good, isn't it? I fully agree. FINALLY Bella has a relaxing afternoon with just her two favorite people in the world - Edward and Elizabeth! Anyway, I'm sorry it wasn't much of an 'outing' but I don't really have that much experience on family outings. But I gave y'all a bit of a fluffy moment between Edward and Bella. **

**Next Chapter: The drama begins to pick up again (told you it would). That is all I'm saying. Remember to Review (Pretty please? I'm begging you!)! Until Next Time: NerdyGuRu2**

--

**NEXT CHAPTER:**

I was about to respond to Alice's question when the bell above the bookstore opened and - out of habit - I looked up, grateful for the distraction. However - grateful as I was for the distraction - I regretted looking up as soon as I had seen who had walked through the door.


	24. White Envelopes

**Disclaimer: **I do not own Twilight.

**Author's Note: Hello again. Sorry for the short delay. This chapter takes place about two and a half weeks after Bella, Edward and Elizabeth afternoon off. so Bella is almost four months pregnant. Enjoy the chapter!**

**IMPORTANT NOTE/WARNING: I am starting school on the ninth of September, and I am going to have a real heavy workload this year. I am going to TRY to finish this story up before then, so you might want to be forewarned that there will be updates mostly likely every day/ every other day. We have about ten or eleven chapters left of the story, and I have about two months left of the story to write, so we may be doing time skipping here and there. **

**Now, on to the chapter!**

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Chapter Twenty-three: White Envelopes

(BPOV)

I hurried up the side stairs to the kitchen side door. I had just gotten back from dropping Elizabeth off at school. I could tell that there was a huge storm coming, and I wanted to get in before the rain started coming down. No such luck. Halfway up, the skies opened up and started pouring out all the rain. I hurried faster, almost tripping in the process.

As I approached the door, I noticed a small, square white envelope taped to the outside of the kitchen door. I ripped it off and pushed the key into the lock and turned it, hurrying inside as soon as I opened the door.

Once I was inside, I examined the envelope. It wasn't anything fancy – just a regular, plain white, small envelope for everyday uses. There was no return address on it, just four simple words in a handwriting of which I seemed to recognize.

_Ms. Isabella M. Swan_.

Where had I seen that handwriting before?

It hit me then, and I dropped the envelope like it was a bomb. It was Philip Stuartson's handwriting.

I slowly bent down to pick the envelope back up. I looked at it cautiously for a moment, debating whether or not I should open it. Should I open it? Or should I not open it? Should I call Charlie?

After a moment, I took a deep breath and turned the envelope over to open it. The envelope seal was tucked inside the envelope, so I pulled it out. Inside was a single piece of paper, and on that single piece of paper was a note – a note that seemed to send tingles down my spine.

_Beware of worse things to come. You'd better be prepared…_

My hand went instinctively to my stomach, where I could feel the very tiny bump on my stomach. I rubbed it – taking comfort in the fact that there was still a person growing inside me at that moment – and tried to ebb away the mounting hysteria that was rising up in me.

It helped. A little.

00

Thunder rumbled throughout the rest of the morning. I stayed down in the bookshop, keeping my mind off the envelope from this morning. I had hid it in the drawer of the desk in the back room, since it was the most likely place where Edward would never find it.

I knew it was probably stupid to keep something like this – the envelope – from him, but I didn't want him to worry.

We were happy right now; James and Philip hadn't bothered us for a while, ever since the attack. We were both relieved by that. I continued helping Alice plan her wedding (we were almost done with the planning, too); the bookshop was doing great; and Elizabeth was doing well in school, and she loved it. And me? Well, I was beginning to feel like everything was settling down and James and Philip had managed to fall off a cliff or get sensible sense knocked into their heads.

That was highly un-likely.

Just when I thought things were finally getting good, he just had to come barging back into our lives.

I started out of my thoughts when the bookshop phone rang. I placed a hand to my chest to calm my racing heart and picked the phone up. "Hello?"

No answer.

"Hello?" I asked again.

Again, there was no answer. Then there was an audible _click _sound, letting me know that whoever was on the other line had hung up. I looked at the phone for a moment before shaking my head, muttering, "It must have been a wrong number."

A little while later, I was in the back room, opening a box of books that had come in the day before. It was between customers at the moment, very quiet, so I jumped when I heard the bookshop door open and then someone call out, "Hello? Bella? Are you down here?" It was Alice.

"Hold on," I called back. I got up from the seat and started for the door.

However, I my shoe caught on the corner of the desk and I stumbled forward, managing to catch myself on the edge of the desk before I came into contact with the floor. "Ow, ow, ow..," I muttered as I stood up. In the process of falling, when I had quickly turned to catch myself on the edge of the desk, I had somehow managed to wrench my back a bit. How I managed that, I am not sure, but with me and my klutziness, _any_thing could happen.

Alice and Rosalie were leaning against the counter of the desk in the front. They looked up when they heard me coming and tried to hide an amused grin when they saw me holding my back.

"Are you okay?" asked Alice.

I rolled my eyes and waved my hand to dismiss the fact. "Just _peachy_. Somehow, I manage to wrench my back a bit in the process of my falling to the ground. Stupid desk. So, what's up?"

"How busy are you this Saturday?" Rosalie asked.

"Why?" I asked. _It'd better not be shopping_…, I thought as I sat down in the chair behind the desk, wincing.

Alice and Rosalie looked at each other, smiles on their faces.

"Well, the wedding planning is almost done, and pretty soon all we'll have to do is do the last fitting for the dresses and then we'll be all set. We figured that we'd take a break from shopping for the wedding and go maternity clothes shopping! What do you say, huh?" Alice asked, grinning broadly.

I sighed. "I don't know. I think I'm just going to use the clothes from my last pregnancy. I still have them, somewhere in the back of my closet." I had never gotten rid of them.

"Oh come on, Bella. It'd be so much fun shopping. Besides, you're already beginning to show," Rosalie said, gesturing toward me stomach.

"Yeah, and why would you want to wear _old_ maternity clothes anyway?" Alice asked, scrunching up her nose in disgust.

I was about to respond to Alice's question when the bell above the bookstore door rang and – out of habit – I looked up, grateful for the distraction. However – grateful as I was for the distraction – I regretted looking up as soon as I had seen who had walked through the door.

A man who looked to be in about his mid-thirties entered the bookshop. He was wearing a pair of grungy, oily blue overalls and big black boots. In his hand he carried an old red toolbox. His hair was cut short, almost a buzz cut, and from what I could make out, there was a small cut on his cheekbone and a small earring dangling from his left ear. The name tag on his chest pocket said 'ISA'. He was wearing these dark shades. He looked somewhat familiar, but I couldn't quite place my finger on whom.

The pen that I was twiddling between my fingers dropped to the desk as the man walked up to the desk.

"Excuse me, ladies," he said, and Alice and Rosalie scooted over a bit. He took what looked like an appointment card from the front pocket on his chest and looked at it, then looked at me. "Are you Isabella Swan?" There was a slight Australian accent to his voice.

I raised my eyebrows. "Yes, can I help you with anything?" I asked slowly.

"I'm here to do a check on your furnace, make sure everything is good and safe and make sure that it's not going to blow up anytime soon," Isa said.

I narrowed my eyes slightly, beginning to get a little suspicious. "I didn't call anyone to check on the furnace."

The man let out a slight, nervous chuckle. "Even if people don't call, we come anyway, just to make sure you're safe. We don't want your pretty little business to blow up, now do we?" He leaned an elbow on the counter and gave me a 'charming' smile. "I mean, you never can tell these days, especially if the furnace is old."

"Furnace is in the backroom. Just go through that door there," I said, pointing towards the brown, wooden door to my right.

Isa flashed another smile my way, said, "Thanks. It shouldn't take more than five, ten minutes or so."

When he had disappeared, Alice and Rosalie stood in front of the desk again.

"I've never seen him around town before," Rosalie said.

"Maybe he's a new furnace repair man. It sounds like he's from Australia," Alice said.

I was looking after him, keeping my gaze locked on the door that led to the back room. I had a feeling in the back of my chest that I couldn't get rid of. I mentally shook my head. Maybe I was just going crazy and a little paranoid, with everything that had been happening.

Alice waved a hand in front of my face, trying to regain my attention again. "Earth to Bella," she said after a moment.

I blinked and turned back to face my Alice and Rosalie, wincing as my back throbbed dully from moving. "Sorry. Dazed out for a moment there," I said, rubbing the small of my back.

The bookshop door opened again and the town mail man entered. He was taking a large pile of white envelopes from his mail bag as he walked up to the desk. "Here you go," he said as he handed me the large pile of mail. "Uh, there is a bunch that had no return address on them, and they had no stamps on them. Some guy gave them to me, telling me I should give them to you."

For some reason, a tingle ran down my spine. "Uh, thanks," I said.

The mailman nodded and headed back outside.

"So, are you in or not?" Alice asked. "Come on, Bella, it'll be so much fun! We haven't gone shopping together for a _really_ long time."

I rolled my eyes as I said, distracted, "Alice, we went a week and a half ago."

My eyes were fixed on the pile of plain white envelopes in my hands. They looked exactly like the one I found on my kitchen door this morning.

Isa came out again just then, jerking me from my gaze. "All finished. Absolutely no problem. We will send you the bill soon." With that he left the bookshop.

"Uh, thanks," I said, shaking my head. "Ugh, where do I get the feeling I know that guy?"

"He looked a little odd," Alice said.

I quickly flipped through the mail and realized that there was not a single one that wasn't one of the white envelopes. I threw the envelopes in the trash, getting a feeling that the envelopes contained the same note that I had received this morning.

"So, Saturday, you, me, Rosalie, what do you say?" Alice asked. "Huh? What's wrong?"

I quickly composed my face. "Nothing," I said. "I…it's nothing."

Alice and Rosalie raised her eyebrows. "Alright, if you insist," Alice said. "See you Saturday?"

I sighed. "Yeah, sure. See you Saturday."

(JamPOV)

I paced back and forth across the run-down motel room anxiously, anticipating whether or not Philip had managed to get them.

A ridiculous soap opera, _Days of Our Lives_, was playing on the T.V., its volume turned down to background noise. I wasn't paying the least bit of attention to it; I thought soap operas were a _little_ too dramatic for my taste. All the characters were a bunch of babies and drama kings and queens. No, I preferred shows like _Law & Order: CI _and_ Law & Order: SVU_ on NBC and shows like that.

My cell phone began to vibrate on the bedside table, and a ring tone began playing. I picked it up and put it to my ear.

"Hello?" I asked in a low voice.

"I have them."

I sighed in relief. "Good. Did she suspect anything?"

"She was a bit reluctant, but I managed to convince her to let me through. I don't think she suspected a thing, or even recognized me. It was too easy, my brother. You would have been proud."

I scoffed slightly. "Yeah, yeah, I'll give you a cookie when you get back," I said sarcastically. "Did you manage to get them past her without her seeing them?"

"Yes," he replied.

"Good man. Did she receive the warnings?" I asked.

"It's all taken care of, Jamie. Don't worry," my little brother replied.

Once again, I sighed with relief. I was close. I was getting closer with each passing day. Soon, I would have my daughter in my hands, and hopefully that no good brunette and her little 'family' would be rid of…forever.

I shut the phone, a deep, low and menacing laugh rumbling through my chest.

_Beware, Ms. Swan. Your days are quickly coming to an end._

--

**Author's Note:**

**Creepy, eh? Am I getting good at writing creepy James POV's or what? Okay, a quick poll here: **

**-- Pick two of each of the following names -- **

**Boy: Girl:**

**Nathan Andrea **

**Isaiah Rachel**

**Johnathan Rebecca **

**Timothy Madison**

**Next Chapter: A short time skip. Mybe like a week. Bella and Edward find out the sex of their baby; discuss baby names...with the help of the rest of their group of friends; and Bella's worst nightmare comes true. Remember to Review! Until Next Time: NerdyGuRu2 **

--

**NEXT CHAPTER:**

"Whoa, Bella, slow down! What are you doing?" he asked.

"I am _such_ an _idiot_!" I said, tears burning in my eyes. "They're gone Edward! How could I have been so _stupid_?"


	25. Stolen

**Disclaimer: **I do not own Twilight.

--

Chapter Twenty-four: Stolen

(BPOV)

"Bella?" Someone nudged my arm with their elbow, jerking me out of my little doze.

I sat up straight in the chair, rubbing my eyes. "Hmm?"

Edward chuckled next to me. "You fell asleep, love."

"I wasn't sleeping – I was just dozing off a little, that's all," I mumbled sleepily. I didn't want to admit that I had fallen asleep while we were waiting, but only for a moment; I guess I was really tired.

We were in the waiting room at the hospital, waiting for the nurse to call us in. We were there for my four month check up. Today, we would be able to see the baby for the first time since our first appointment with Carlisle, and we would be able to find out what we were having! Edward's excitement about finding out was beginning to rub off on me; I was beginning to get a little excited myself, though Edward was much more enthusiastic about this.

"Are you okay to drive home?" Edward asked, a crooked, amused grin appearing on his lips.

I slapped his arm lightly with the back of my hand, smiling a bit. "I'm perfectly fine, Edward. I'm just a bit tired." The morning sickness had stopped earlier that week, but I was still not sleeping too well. Of course, I hadn't been sleeping well anyways, so that wasn't exactly a surprise.

"But it's pouring out," he said. "You could skid off the road if you unexpectedly fall asleep."

I rolled my eyes, running a hand through my hair tiredly. "I'm not going to fall asleep. And I've driven through pouring rain about a million times ever since I moved to Forks. I think I'm all set."

Before Edward could respond, a nurse called out my name and we followed the nurse to the examination room. A few minutes later, there was a knock of the closed door and Carlisle walked in, pushing in front of him an Ultrasound machine.

"Hello, Bella, Edward. How are we doing today?" he asked in his British accent.

Just then, I remembered the time six years ago, when I found out I was having a girl….

_Carlisle began moving the Doppler stick around my tummy. The three of us looked at the ultrasound machine, and there, in a mixture of gray and black was my baby. It had grown since my three month checkup, but it was still small. It was visible and almost had the shape of a human being._

"_Hey, Carlisle, why is it so tiny?" Edward asked. I looked up at him before looking back at the screen where my baby was shown. His eyes were glued to the screen, and his eyes held…love._

_Carlisle looked at him briefly before looking back at the screen. "The baby is growing at the normal rate of a baby, but it's small because it probably has inherited Bella's smallness. I have no doubt that when she's older, she'll have a small frame."_

_To my embarrassment, I felt tears come to my eyes as I looked at the screen. A little baby girl. I was having a girl! From what I could see on the screen, she was sucking on her tiny thumb._

"_Congratulations, Bella," Carlisle said._

_Smiling, I said, "I'm having a girl."_

"_Alice is going to be thrilled," Edward said, and I could hear the grin on his voice._

Carlisle went through the normal procedure, asking me questions, that sort of stuff. When he finished, he said, "Alright, are you ready to find out what you're having?"

Edward nodded his head enthusiastically and Carlisle chuckled, "I figured you would be."

As he began hooking up the Ultrasound machine, Carlisle instructed me to lie back on the examination table and lift up my shirt so that just my belly was exposed. The bump on my stomach was small, hardly any bigger than it was at three months, but you could definitely see that there was a bump there.

Carlisle applied the cool gel and then began moving the Doppler stick around my belly. The screen was fuzzy for a few seconds then cleared up to reveal a moving black and white picture. Carlisle pointed to the screen with his index finger. "There is your baby."

It was hard to see, because the baby was still really small, but you could tell that the baby had actually begun to take form. From what the three of us could see, the baby was sucking on its thumb, like Elizabeth had been. And then there was a slight thumping noise coming from the ultrasound machine speakers – the baby's heartbeat.

It was so…so precious, so beautiful.

"Would you like to know the baby's gender?" Carlisle asked. Edward and I nodded, and Carlisle chuckled.

He moved the Doppler stick around for a minute, studying the screen. Finally – with the slightest hint of a smile – he said, "Congratulations you two, it's a boy!"

Tears welled up in my eyes as I stared at the screen. I was having a boy! I looked up at Edward, who was looking at the screen with a goofy grin on his face. He looked down at me and kissed my hair.

"We're having a boy!" I said as a tear rolled slowly down my cheek.

(EPOV)

It was an indescribable feeling, seeing your child on the Ultrasound machine, no matter if you saw it before. But the baby had grown since the last time we had seen it, at the two month check up. It looked more like a baby now, but it was still very small; no doubt he had Bella's smallness.

"I think he looks like you, Edward," Bella said after a second of looking at the screen.

I squinted and looked closer. You could _kind_ of tell…. I shrugged, smiling. "Eh, you can kind of tell."

And then Bella gasped, and both Carlisle and I looked down at her, worried that something was wrong. Across Bella's face, a smile was forming, and she grabbed my hand. "The baby's kicking," she said, placing my hand on her belly.

Underneath my hand, I could feel a strong flutter. I looked at the screen. The little baby boy reached his little foot out and kicked again, making Bella giggle. "Do you feel it?" Bella whispered. She, too, was watching the screen, watching our son kick his little foot.

I nodded. "I feel it."

Carlisle chuckled. "Maybe he will be into soccer."

00

(BPOV)

I walked up the path leading up to the doorway of Alex's house, on my way to pick Elizabeth up; I had called Alex's mother that morning, asking if she wouldn't mind watching Elizabeth for the afternoon while I went to the doctor's appointment and ran a couple errands. I pressed the doorbell and waited for someone to answer the door.

The door opened a moment later to reveal Alex's mother. "Hi, Bella, come on in," she said, smiling warmly as she stood aside to let me in. "They're upstairs, playing a game that Elizabeth taught Alex earlier. I think it involves the El Chupacabras and the Amazon." I laughed slightly as she led me up the stairs.

"So she was good?" I asked.

Alex's mother nodded. "She was perfectly well behaved."

Elizabeth and Alex were playing in the middle of Alex's bedroom, pretending they were in the middle of the Amazon, hunting El Chupacabras. As soon as she spotted me, Elizabeth grinned and got up from the floor.

"Mommy!' she said, wrapping her arms around my legs.

"Hi sweetie, are you ready to go?" I asked, brushing her hair away from her eyes.

"Yeah!" she said.

Eighteen minutes later, we arrived at the Cullen's. As I pulled into the clearing in front of the Cullen's house, I saw Edward's silver Volvo parked on the side of the driveway, parked behind Alice's yellow Porsche. I couldn't help the smile that crept onto my face; Edward would be able to protect me from Alice ambushing me, which I was sure she would do, since she knew that we were going to find out the sex of the baby that afternoon.

Just like I predicted, as soon as Elizabeth and I were on the porch, the door flung open and we were pulled into the house and into the kitchen. The little baby boy inside me kicked at the movement.

"Okay…that has got to be getting old _some_time soon," I muttered as I was sat down at the Island by Alice, who giggled at my statement. Jasper laughed slightly and Edward kissed my cheek in greeting. "Hey."

"Hello, dear," she replied.

"Okay, you guys have got to tell me," Alice said as Edward pulled Elizabeth onto his lap. "Did you guys find out what you're having?"

Edward and I smiled at each other. "Yes," Edward said. "We did…." Jasper, Alice, and Esme leaned forward just a bit, obviously intent on finding out.

"..But we're not telling," I finished. "Not until everybody's here, at least."

"Aww, man," Alice said. "You at least did bring pictures right?"

Edward and I rolled our eyes, laughing. "We did get pictures, Alice," I said, taking the two Ultrasound photos out of my coat pocket and placing them on the Island top for everyone to see. One of them showed him sucking his thumb, and the other one showed him laying there, his arms floating just above his tiny stomach.

"Aww! That is so adorable!" Esme and Alice cooed as they looked at the pictures.

Jasper looked at the one where the baby was sucking his thumb and laughed, saying, "That baby is so cute. Looks like you, Edward, seriously."

"That's what I said," I said, smiling at Edward.

"Okay, now you _have_ to tell me because I am _dying_ to know here!" Alice said.

Emmett and Rosalie walked into the kitchen then, followed closely by Carlisle, who was holding Angie in his arms.

Jasper, holding up the picture where the baby was sucking his thumb to Emmett, asked, "Emmett, don't you agree that Edward and Bella's baby looks like Edward?"

The man in question looked at the Ultrasound photo, tilting his head sideways for a moment. "Yeah, the baby looks like you, Edward. It's cute, too."

"Okay, come on, tell us – boy or girl?" Rosalie asked.

Edward and I looked at each other. The goofy grin that was on his face that afternoon was forming again. I nudged him slightly with my elbow and jerked my head toward the people in the kitchen, giving him a slightly pointed look.

His grin got wider and he said, "It's a boy."

Alice, Esme and Rosalie squealed and hugged me and Edward excitedly. Emmett and Jasper clapped Edward on the back and gave me hug. Carlisle, who had already known what we were having, just stood there, a grin on his face as Esme planted a big kiss on his cheek. After the excitement wound down, Emmett held out his hand to Jasper, who moaned when he noticed Emmett's hand.

"Pay up, brother," Emmett said.

Grumbling, Jasper stuffed his hand in his pocket and pulled out two five dollar bills.

"Oh, don't tell me you placed a bet on Bella and Edward's baby," Alice and Esme said, giving them incredulous looks.

Emmett and Jasper ducked their heads, fighting massive grins. "Sorry, mom."

00

"That was an interesting night," Edward said as we walked up the side stairs to the kitchen later that night.

I laughed tiredly. "Yeah, interesting night it was. But might I remind you that _you _joined in on the fun?"

Emmett, Jasper, and Edward had taken it upon themselves during dinner to make the world's largest list on boy names. I shook my head as I remembered a couple of the names they had suggested…. Some of them the rest of us had nearly choked on our food when we heard them. It was quiet entertaining.

Edward laughed as I unlocked the door. He was carrying Elizabeth, who was falling asleep. "But you do know that I would _never_ name any child of ours _any_ of those names, right?"

I giggled. "I know, honey. Shall we look through a baby name book and find some sensible sounding names that don't make me choke whenever I hear it?"

Edward grinned. "Absolutely."

"Okay, I'll go get the book from downstairs. I'll be right back," I said as I placed my coat across the back of a chair at the kitchen table.

I turned the light on in the stairway leading downstairs so I wouldn't trip. Unfortunately, that didn't work and I slipped down the last step, slamming into the door. "Oww.." I said, rubbing my belly where the little boy was kicking in protest. _Sorry, baby_, I thought to myself.

"Bella? Are you alright? What happened?" Edward called down, poking his head around the edge of the door frame.

"I'm fine. I slipped on the last step and banged into the door. I'm okay," I said. The baby kicked again and I giggled. "The baby's okay, too."

I went into the backroom and flipped on the light. The baby name book was sitting on the desk; I had been looking through it this morning, and I had left the book on the desk. I had circled a couple names that I liked…but, unfortunately, they were girl names, since I had been looking through it _before_ I had found out that I was having a boy.

Before I was two steps away from the desk, I got this feeling in my stomach. It was like something was off…like something _really _important was missing.

Just out of habit, I grabbed the keys to the bottom drawer of the desk and unlocked it. I had to make sure; I had a feeling _something _wasn't right. I pulled the drawer open. Just as I expected, the single hanging folder was in there. I opened it, expecting to find the papers in there.

They weren't.

My heart dropped down to my stomach as I searched through the whole drawer, hoping that it had somehow fallen out.

It hadn't. And I was sure of that. I hadn't touched the papers ever since I had moved in.

They had been stolen, I was sure of it.

"No!" I moaned. I closed the drawer and bolted as fast as I could out of the room and back upstairs.

I burst through the door into the living room and went straight to Edward's and mine bedroom, straight past Edward, who was sitting on the couch. I shut the door – a little too hard unintentionally – and went to the closet door and began banging my head against it.

There was a soft knock on the door before it opened and I heard Edward ask, "Bella? Are you okay?"

I stopped banging my head and turned around and slid down the closet door, moaning "Just perfect" before beginning to bang my head again, not caring that it was making my head hurt.

Edward leaned down in front of me and grabbed my shoulders. "Whoa, Bella, slow down! What are you doing?" he asked.

"I am _such_ an _idiot_!" I said, tears burning in my eyes. "They're gone, Edward! How could I have been so _stupid_?"

"What's gone?" he asked, looking into my eyes. "What happened?"

"I might as well move myself and Elizabeth to Canada and change my names to Schnucklefritz!" I cried, wiping my eyes with the back of my hand.

Edward chuckled. "I think that we would miss you two. Bella, what happened? Take a deep breath and tell me what happened. You were fine when you went downstairs."

Tears began streaming down my face again as I pulled out of Edward's grasp and stood up to sit down on the bed. He sat down next to me. "What happened, Bella?" he asked again, beginning to look slightly worried.

I groaned and fell backward on the bed and covered my face with my hands. "The custody papers, Edward. The custody papers are gone!"

My worst nightmare had come true.

--

**Author's Note:**

**Okay, before I continue: PLEASE DON'T KILL ME!! I beg you. Because then I wouldn't be able to finish the story. I am SO sorry for the cliffhanger. I told you the drama was coming back. What will happen, now that Bella knows the custody papers are gone?**

**Next Chapter: Bella has a mental/emotional breakdown. A bit of Edward and Bella fluff, maybe. Until Next Time: NerdyGuRu2 (P.S. - Remember to Review!)**

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**Spoiler for **_**FUTURE**_** chapter:**

**(You CANNOT ask me about it)**

"Where the heck are they?" I asked, walking back and forth across the kicthen, unable to sit down and not move.

"Bella, re--." Alice cut off just as the door opened and the four men in question stumbled through the door. "What the heck happened to you guys?"


	26. Breakdown

**Disclaimer: **I do not own Twilight.

**Author's Note: Okay, a bit of a forwarning - a bit of an emotional rollercoaster chapter below. Oh, and thanks to all of my reviewers! They make me happy, and they make me write more, even when I have massive cases of writers block! **

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Chapter Twenty-five: Breakdown

(EPOV)

I was sitting in the living room when Bella burst through the door and went straight past me to our bedroom. The look on her face shocked me – it was paler than normal, almost sick looking. I raised my eyebrows and was just about to get up when I heard muted banging coming from the vicinity from the bedroom.

I went to the bedroom door and knocked on it, a little scared that she was going through one of her mood swings. I opened the door and stuck my head around the doorframe, asking, "Bella? Are you okay?"

Bella was banging her head against the closet door, but stopped when she heard me, turned around and slid down the closet door, moaning, "Just perfect." Then she began banging her head again.

I went over to her and leaned down in front of her, grabbing her shoulders. "Whoa, Bella, slow down! What are you doing?" I asked.

Tears welled up in her eyes as she said, "I am _such_ an _idiot_! They're gone, Edward! How could I have been so _stupid_?"

Looking into her eyes, I asked, "What's gone? What happened?"

"I might as well move myself and Elizabeth to Canada and change my name to Schnucklefritz!" she cried, wiping her eyes with the back of her hand.

I chuckled, trying to make her feel better. "I think that we would miss you two. Bella, what happened? Take a deep breath and tell me what happened. You were fine when you went downstairs."

Bella pulled out of my grasp and stood up. She sat down on the bed as the tears began to stream down her face again. I sat down next to her and asked again, "What happened?" I was beginning to get a bit worried about her. Five minutes ago she had been fine, and now she wasn't.

She groaned and fell backward on the bed, covering her face with her hands. "The custody papers, Edward. The custody papers are gone!"

The…? I felt my blood run cold. The custody papers were _gone_?

"What?" I asked.

Bella sat up again, tears still running down her face. "The custody papers. Gone. All gone. Stolen." She stared at the wall, her eyes seeming to see nothing.

"Are you sure that they were stolen?" I asked.

She nodded. "How could I have been so _oblivious_?" she moaned.

"Who would steal custody pa...?" I trailed off, and then answered my own question. "Philip?"

She moaned. "Yes! What do we do now? Who knows what he could have done to them."

I put an arm around her shoulders. "It's going to be okay. What could he do to the papers? We should probably call Charlie and tell him what happened."

Bella shook her head violently. "No, no, don't call Charlie. He doesn't need to know."

"Bella, are you crazy? Charlie needs to know. He'll know what to do," I said. I turned her so she was looking at me.

She looked at me through exhausted, tear-filled eyes for a long moment. Finally, she sighed and looked away, down at the floor. "Okay," she said and her voice quiet, watery with tears.

"Okay." I kissed her forehead and went to the kitchen. Bella followed me, not speaking. I grabbed the phone from next to the refrigerator and dialed the police station. I saw Bella bite her lip and I wrapped my arm around her shoulder in an attempt to comfort her.

"Forks Police Station," said a voice on the other end.

"Yes, hi, I'm calling for Chief Swan, please," I said, praying that he was there tonight.

"Speaking?"

"Edward Cullen."

"One moment, please."

I kissed the top of Bella's head as she leaned against my chest with her arms wrapped around me.

The police officer that had answered came on again and said, "Chief Swan isn't in right now. He left about three hours ago. Would you like to leave a message?"

"Um, no. Thank you, though," I said and hung up.

"Was he in?" Bella mumbled against my chest.

I shook my head. "He wasn't in."

I wrapped both my arms around her, hugging her. We stood there for a moment in silence, just holding each other. We both knew that if we weren't able to get the custody papers back, we could lose Lizzy, and I knew that Bella would not be able to go through that. The thought was heart-wrenching. What would we do?

After a moment, I said, "Come on, let's go to Charlie's and explain things to him. He'll tell us what we should do, and maybe we'll be able to go from there."

Bella looked up at me. Tears were coming down her face again. "Now?" I nodded. "Edward, it's almost nine. It's getting late and Elizabeth's already in bed."

"Let's call Alice and Jasper and ask if they'll come over and stay with her until we get back. I'm sure they won't mind," I said. "Bella, the sooner we tell Charlie about the custody papers, the sooner something can be done. And maybe, the sooner Philip and James go to jail."

Bella took a deep breath and wiped her eyes again with the sleeve of her shirt. "If you're sure, Edward," she said.

"I'm sure." I kissed her forehead again and then her lips, lingering there for several seconds.

I quickly dialed Alice's cell. After a couple rings, Alice answered. "Hello?"

"Alice? It's me, Edward. Listen, are you still at mom and dad's?"

"We were just about to leave. Why, what's up?" she asked.

"Would you be able to stay with Elizabeth for a bit? Something came up and Bella and I need to go see Charlie. Would you be able to do that?" I asked.

"Uh, yeah, sure. Edward, did something happen?" She sounded worried.

I sighed, wondering if I should tell her or not. I looked down at Bella. She seemed to understand what I was thinking, and she shook her head. "Yeah. I'll explain when you get here."

"Okay. See you in a few," Alice said.

It was quarter to ten when we pulled into Charlie's driveway. After we pulled into the driveway, we sat there for several moments, staring at the front door, contemplating whether or not it was a good idea to talk to Charlie.

When we were standing in front of the door, Bella reached out to knock, but her hand froze halfway there. She turned to me and asked, "Are you sure this is a good idea?" I nodded.

Bella sighed and, looking hesitant, knocked.

The door opened a moment later. Charlie stood there, a surprised look on his face. "Edward, Bella. What brings you guys here this late? Is something wrong?"

Bella and I looked at each other. When Bella managed to get a voice, she stumbled over her words, not sure of how to phrase what we were there for.

"Dad…we…need your help with something."

00

(BPOV)

We were at Charlie's for what seemed like forever, though it was really only an hour. For the first fifteen minutes, we explained to him what happened, and during those fifteen minutes, Charlie's facial expressions were somewhat identical as to what Edward's had been – disbelief, and then realization when he realized the fact that Lizzy might be taken away.

When I voiced this out loud, Charlie said, "She won't be taken away from you. I'll make sure of that. With all the stunts he's pulled – no matter if he changes the custody papers – and what he's done to you," I flinched slightly, remembering the night he attacked me "he _won't_ be able to get custody."

And then Edward asked, "What's the best way to keep her safe?"

Charlie let out a sigh, looking down at the table, obviously thinking. "Just keep any eye on her closely and make sure she doesn't disappear from your sight."

Edward and I nodded silently.

"Now, are you two sure it was Philip who stole the papers?" Charlie asked me. I nodded. "Would you be able to describe to me what he looked like that day?"

Once I told Charlie what Philip had looked like, Charlie told us he would notify the police in the morning, and send out yet another search warrant. He told us to call our lawyer on Monday, and he would help us from there.

Finally, at a little after eleven, we left Charlie's. During the ride back home, we were silent. I fought back the hysteria that was creeping up onto me, slowly turning into a complete and total emotional breakdown.

For once, Edward drove slowly.

(EPOV)

Alice and Jasper were sitting at the kitchen table, playing a game of cards and talking in low voices, when we walked through the kitchen door. They looked up when we entered.

"Hey, guys," Jasper said.

"Hey," we said, joining them at the table.

Alice and Jasper raised their eyebrows. "So, what was wrong?" Alice asked.

Bella didn't answer. I glanced at her. She was staring at the table top, rubbing her belly. She was biting her lip, trying to keep the tears from breaking through and surfacing. I could see the tears beginning to well up in her eyes.

And then she got up from the table. "I'm going to go check on Elizabeth. Thanks for staying with her, you guys," she said. Her voice was low. She smiled slightly, as if to reassure them that she was fine, but we all knew better.

"You're welcome, Bella," Jasper said.

"Yeah, anytime," Alice said. Bella smiled softly at them again before disappearing out of the kitchen.

Once she was gone, Alice and Jasper leaned forward and Alice asked in a low, worried voice, "What happened? Is everything okay?"

I let out a deep breath, running a hand through my hair. "Bella's custody papers got stolen."

Jasper and Alice's eyes went wide. "Oh, my god! The papers giving Bella full right for custody over Elizabeth?" Alice asked, shock and horror filling her facial expression, matching Jasper's. I nodded. "Oh, no."

I nodded again. If I drank, I'd probably be taking several large gulps of whiskey or something of the sort at that moment.

"That little weasel. I'd sure as heck like to get my hands around his neck," Jasper said.

"I can't agree with you more, Jasper," I said.

Alice shook her head. "You do know that if you both get into a fist fight or something of the sort with Philip or James, you'll be getting the full wrath of Bella's hormones, right?"

Jasper and I looked at each other. Neither of us wanted the wrath of Bella's temper – which was even scarier when she was pregnant – to be thrown upon us. But neither of us wanted to _not_ throw a punch at James and Philip, either. It was a 'one or the other' situation.

Alice giggled softly. "I figured. We should probably get going. It's late." Jasper nodded, agreeing.

"Okay. Thanks, again," I said.

Jasper reached over and clapped a hand on my shoulder. "Anytime, bro."

Once Jasper and Alice left, I got up from the table and went to find Bella.

I found her in our bedroom. She was sitting in the middle of the bed, leaning against the headboard, rubbing her belly up and down softly. She was staring at a spot on the bedspread. Just as I had seen out in the kitchen, I could see tears welling up in her eyes, dangerously close to spilling over.

Slowly, I walked around the bed and climbed up next to her, wrapping my arms around her and pulling her against my chest.

And then she completely broke down.

We sat there for a long time, me holding her against my chest while she cried. Her shoulders shook with sobs, and I tried to comfort her as best I could, to assure her that everything was alright. It broke my heart to hear her cry, knowing that I could do nothing to help her at that moment, except hold her and let her know that I was there and not leaving.

"I was so stupid," she blubbered out after a while.

I shook my head. "You weren't stupid."

"Yes, I w-was. I was so oblivious. He sl-sl-slipped the p-papers out from under m-my nose, and I didn't even recognize him," she said. I hugged her tighter to my chest, and kissed the top of her head, lingering there for several seconds.

"You're not going to lose Elizabeth. She'll be alright, and everything will turn out good once this whole thing blows over," I said.

More tears escaped Bella's eyes. "I never ad-admitted it to you be-before, b-but I'm terrified," she whispered.

"You have the perfect right to be terrified, love. It's nothing to be ashamed of," I said.

"I'm scared of losing you, Elizabeth, the baby. I'm scared of you or any of the rest of our family will get hurt – all because of me," she said quietly.

"Bella, none of this is _any_one's fault, particularly yours. Don't blame yourself for _one second_," I said.

She shook head, obviously wanting me to understand something that I clearly didn't at the moment. "No, it is my fault. If Philip hadn't followed us home from Phoenix, then we wouldn't have gone through this. Philip followed us home because of me – to get to me. To get to me…so he could get to Elizabeth. I'm so scared of losing her, Edward. I love her so much."

"I know, love," I said softly. "I love her, too."

I held Bella until she managed to fall into an uneasy, non-peaceful sleep. I followed shortly after, and we laid there on the bed, both of us knowing we would get through whatever laid ahead.

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**Author's Note: **

**Wow, two updates in one day! Okay, so, I guess that wasn't a mental breakdown. More of an emotional breakdown. The events of the past four or so months had finally caught up with her. I hate it when that happens to me. Sorry if that was such a **_**non**_** happy chapter. The next one will be happy(er). **

**Next Chapter: Esme, Alice, Rosalie, and Bella have a girls night in, and Carlisle, Emmett, Jasper, and Edward have a guys night out. The next chapter might be long, so I just want to forewarn you. Anyway, I'm going to post this and go to bed. My eyes are getting blurry a bit. Remember to Review! Until Next Time: NerdyGuRu2 **

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**NEXT CHAPTER:**

I raised my eyebrows at my sister. "Girls night in? And may I ask what is included in this 'girls night in', because, with you involved, I'm almost scared to ask."


	27. Girl's Night In

**Disclaimer: **I do not own Twilight.

**Author's Note: Finally, another chapter. I had a bit of trouble with this one. I got intense writers block halfway through, which caused the delay. But, I managed to write it. Yay! Oh, and the spoiler I put at the end of chapter twenty-four, Stolen - I changed it a little bit to fit with what happens in the next chapter. **

**Thanks for all your reviews! We're almost to 600! Enjoy the chapter! **

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Chapter Twenty-six: Girl's Night In

(BPOV)

Sleep didn't treat me well when I finally managed to fall asleep. Several times, I woke up, disturbed by confused nightmares. The nightmares always ended the same way – James standing over me, laughing maniacally, hysterically, while I lay there, on the floor, breathing my last breaths.

When I opened my eyes in the morning, I was covered with the throw blanket that was always draped over the back of the couch in the living room. As I sat up slowly, my head pounded and my eyes stung from crying all night. I looked around tiredly, noticing Edward wasn't there. Instead, on his pillow, there was a note. I picked it up.

_Morning, love._

_Sorry I wasn't there when you woke up. I got called into work. I should be back by the early afternoon, though. Don't open the bookshop; you rest for the day. _

_I love you, Edward. _

I glanced at the clock, wanting to see how long it would be before I would be able to see him again. 8:20 a.m. It would be just a few hours, until I would be able to see him again. I'd be able to last a few hours. I rubbed my tired eyes, yawning slightly. The whole 'not sleeping' thing was beginning to get a little old to me. I had forgotten when the last time was when I had had a good night's sleep.

And then I noticed a lump at the end of the bed. Elizabeth. She was curled up, her head on a pillow, and covered with a blanket. I smiled slightly.

I got off the bed and, gently, so as not to wake her, I slid my arms underneath her small body and pulled her up to the top of the bed and laid her head on my pillow. I covered her again with the blanket that had covered her and kissed the top of her forehead.

A knock sounded just then, breaking through the stillness and quiet. It startled me so much, that I probably must have jumped about a foot in the air.

I placed a hand over my chest to calm my speeding heart and took a deep breath to calm my adrenaline – which was pulsing through my veins at that moment – down. Then I headed out of the bedroom and stumbled, still tired, to the kitchen door.

Much to my relief, it was only Alice. I opened the door and let her in. She was holding a plate that was covered in tinfoil, and two mugs.

"Morning," she chirped. "Don't you look fantastic," she added as she looked me up and down.

I waved my hand tiredly, dismissing the fact. "Eh, I guess."

Alice raised her eyebrows. "Are you okay?"

I looked at her, my mind slowly processing why she was asking if I was okay. And then it clicked and I sighed. "Edward told you guys, didn't he?"

She nodded, sitting down at the table and placing the plate and two mugs down in front of her. "Yeah, he did. I can't believe James would have enough nerve do that. Why _would_ he do that?"

I sat down at the table, as well, staring at the table top. "It was Philip who stole the papers, and I have a feeling that James wanted the papers to try to take Elizabeth away from me, so that he could get back at me for putting him in jail. But Charlie said he wouldn't be able to, with all that he's done to me in the past."

"He _shouldn't_ get custody. The only thing he deserves is a right good kick in the butt!"

"Maybe he just stole the papers just to scare me into giving him Elizabeth. The night he…attacked me, he said that he would be back, and when he came back, I would have to give him Elizabeth, no arguments," I said.

"He needs help," Alice muttered. Then her voice changed to chipper sounding and said, "I brought over some muffins and some hot chocolate." She unwrapped the tin foil covered plate, revealing two large chocolate chip muffins. The smell wafted around the kitchen, and I realized then how hungry I was.

As Alice set the muffins on plates, I said, "So, what's up with bringing muffins over first thing in the morning? Is there something you wanted to ask me?"

"Aw, man, you caught me," Alice said. I grinned half-heartedly at her. "Alright, so I wanted to run something past you."

I raised my eyebrows. "And that would be…?"

"What would you say to a girl's night in while the boys have a guy's night out, huh?" Alice asked, grinning at me, and enthusiastic look in her eyes. "You seem to need a break from life."

My brain slowly processed the words Alice said. I blinked, shook my head to clear my foggy brain and asked, "What makes you think I need a break from life? Which sounds pretty much good right now," I added as an afterthought.

Alice giggled. "Have you looked at yourself lately? You look exhausted, like you haven't slept in weeks. And with everything that has been happening lately with the whole James and Philip debacle, you _really_ need to relax and take care of yourself. Pretty much, you need major cheering up."

I raised my eyebrows at my sister. "Girl's night in? And may I ask what is included in this 'girl's night in', because, with you involved, I'm almost scared to ask."

Alice just grinned.

00

I was on the couch reading to Lizzy when there was a knock on the kitchen door. Edward went to open it and Alice and Rosalie came through, followed closely by Emmett and Jasper, who were looking wary. Alice was carrying a bag full of stuff, and I hated to think of what was in there. Esme and Carlisle followed them in a few seconds later.

"Bella, we feel very sorry for you," Emmett said. "Alice and Rosalie were packing the curling iron."

I raised my eyebrows at the two women who were making their way over to the living room, grins on their faces. "Curling iron?"

"Don't worry, Bella. We're not going to do anything _too_ bad to your hair," Alice said as she sat the bag on the floor and sat down next to Elizabeth.

"Okay, we're kicking you guys out. Have fun!" Rosalie said, starting to push the three boys toward the door.

"So, what are we s'posed to do for five hours tonight?" Emmett asked. "Especially with Angie?"

Rosalie took Angie from Emmett's arms. "You can leave Angie here with us, Emmett. It is, after all, _supposed_ to be _guy's night out_."

"What are you guys planning on doing to Bella?" Edward asked, looking skeptically over at me.

Alice rolled her eyes. "Nothing too horrific, Edward. Stop worrying about her. Now go have fun with Emmett, Jasper and dad, and we'll see you when you get back. Okay?"

Once Alice and Rosalie managed to push Emmett, Jasper, and Edward, and Carlisle out the door, they turned to me and Elizabeth, evil looking grins on their faces. "Okay, Bella, we're going to have _so_ much fun tonight, you can guarantee it!" Alice said as they walked back over to us.

"Should I be scared, mommy?" Elizabeth asked in her sweet voice, looking up at me.

Alice burst out laughing and said, "Nope, Lizzy, you shouldn't be scared. It's your mommy who should be scared." She wiggled her eyebrows at me.

I gave her an incredulous look. "Alice, if you do _any_thing to me or Elizabeth that would surely result in deathly payback, I swear I will unleash the full wrath of my pregnancy hormones on you and Rosalie."

Esme laughed lightly and patted my arm, sitting down next to me. "We're just going to do our hair, paint our nails, and watch a few movies – the _perfect_ remedy for cheering up." Alice and Rosalie nodded in agreement.

I shook my head, smiling. Let the fun begin...

The first movie we watched was the late 1930's version of A Little Princess, the one with Shirley Temple. Elizabeth enjoyed watching it and surprisingly, the rest of us did, too. While we watched the movie, Rosalie did my hair while Alice did Esme's. Rosalie took the straightening iron from the bathroom and straightened Esme's hair, and then curled it slightly at the ends. I put a little eye shadow and lightly brushed a little blush onto her cheeks, then did everybody else's.

After Lizzy went to bed, Rosalie started on my hair.

"Wow, you have really thick hair, Bella. I never noticed," Rosalie said as she pulled a comb through my hair. Esme and Alice giggled.

"I don't have _that_ thick hair," I defended myself.

Alice giggled again. "Bella, remember that girl back in the fourth grade?" I raised my eyebrows, shaking my head. "She was the one who always sat in the back of the classroom because she was too embarrassed of getting looked at by the other girls in our class. Don't you remember her? She was the one with terribly thick, tangled red hair and braces."

I thought back for a moment. "Oh, yeah! I remember her. She really _did_ have really thick hair. Her hair was a nightmare."

Rosalie snickered. "I remember her."

"Hey, mom, did you ever have any crushes on anybody before you met dad?" Alice asked suddenly.

Esme blushed, shaking her head. She thought for a moment, and then said, "Well, actually, there _was_ this guy in my science class back in high school. Unfortunately for him, Carlisle was in that same class."

Alice grinned wickedly, quickly interested. "What happened? Was there jealousy involved?"

Esme giggled. "Well, this was before I realized that Carlisle had a thing for me. Roy, the guy in our science class, had a crush on me – a _huge_ one. Now, see, I didn't like him anything more than a friend, but your father didn't know that. You see, back in high school, Carlisle was in love with me. Roy, as well, was trying to vie for my affections."

"Ooh, what happened?" Rosalie asked.

Esme laughed. "Well, it was our teacher, Miss LaQuerquey, who made me realize that I was actually in love with Carlisle. I didn't realize it at first, but after a while, I got the picture and admitted my feelings to him. Miss LaQuerquey was a little crazy about acting out plays. One day, the class was divided up into groups of three for a project, and she put me in the same group as Roy and Carlisle."

Alice giggled evilly. "I can sense something terrible happened!"

"Well, not terrible. It was actually quite funny what happened. Miss LaQuerquey had assigned our group to put on a ten minute play explaining what we had been learning in science for the past couple of weeks. It was around Christmas time, so our teacher was in the 'singing Christmas carols' mood and had us _sing_ our lines to the tune of 'Jingle Bells, Jingles Bells'," Esme said.

Rosalie and Alice burst out laughing, and I chuckled, rubbing my belly.

Esme blushed and then continued. "On the day we presented our 'play', everything started out nice and smooth. But halfway through play, Carlisle switched lines and began singing something _other_ than what we were supposed to be singing. The whole class was confused for a moment, including Roy and I."

"Something romantic is coming, I can tell!" Alice squealed.

"Well…Carlisle stopped singing and drew out a rose from his pocket and walked over to me. 'Esme,' he said, 'I've loved you since the day I first met you.' Then he placed the rose into my hand and kissed me on the lips," said Esme, a dreamy look in her eyes. "We began dating after that."

Alice and Rosalie squealed. "Aww!" Alice said. "That is SO sweet."

"So, what did Miss LaQuerquey have to do with you and Carlisle getting together?" I asked, curious.

Esme smiled. "Well…nothing really, but if it hadn't been for that silly little play, Carlisle and I probably would have never admitted our feelings of each other, and we wouldn't have gotten together. Well, we probably would have, but the play just prompted it."

"Aww," Alice squealed again. "It's like when Bella and Edward got together!"

My face turned red as Rosalie said, "Yeah, if it weren't for Lizzy, we wouldn't have another sister, Alice."

"Nor would we have a nephew on the way," Alice said, leaning forward and patting my stomach. The little boy nudged in response and I giggled.

Esme laughed and, patting my belly, said, "Yes, and let it be a lesson to you – ask the girl of your dreams out before you get swiped up into admitting your feelings by singing them to her in a play."

This sent Alice and Rosalie laughing hysterically, and me giggling uncontrollably at the feeling of the little baby kicking.

00

By the end of our 'girl's night in', I was feeling much more cheerful, though I have to admit I was still paranoid that James or Philip would come bursting through the door at any given moment and take Elizabeth away.

The guys were supposed to be back by eleven, so by the time 11:15 came, I was beginning to get a little anxious. Had something happened to them? Were they alright? I couldn't help but worry, though I knew that I was probably just being silly by worrying about them too much. They were grown men? How much trouble would they get themselves into?

Little did I know that, apparently, they could get into a _lot_ of trouble.

By eleven-thirty, I had taken up walking back and forth across the kitchen floor, occasionally looking out the kitchen window out into the driveway; I was getting too anxious to sit down and be still.

"Where the heck are they? They were supposed to be back by eleven," I said after looking out the window for the third time.

"Bella, relax. They're only a half hour late. I'm sure they're fine," Alice said.

"Exactly! A _half hour_! _Anything_ could have happened to them!" I said, continuing pacing back and forth.

The phone rang just then, and I was just about to grab it when Alice stopped me. "I'll get it. You go sit down and stop moving."

I reluctantly sat down at the kitchen table and Esme patted my hand reassuringly.

"Hello?" Alice said into the phone. She was silent for a moment, listening to whoever was on the other line. Her eyes widened, and then she said, "What?!...Yes, alright, we'll be there as soon as we can. Thank you." She pressed the off button and placed it down on the charger. She bit her lip, fighting a huge grin.

"Who was that?" I asked.

It took all she had to not burst out laughing. Barely able to contain her laughter, she said, "Sergeant Reynolds from the Port Angeles Police Department. The guys got arrested!"

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**Author's Note:**

**Tee-hee. This chapter was fun to write, despite the writers block. Anyways...So, the boys got arrested? What in the **_**world**_** could they have gotten arrested? You'll have to read to find out! **

**Next Chapter: Bella IS NOT impressed with Edward. Tee hee, this will be fun to write. Remember to Review on your way out! I l-o-v-e reviews! :-) Until Next Time: NerdyGuRu2**

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	28. Biggest Idiots

**Disclaimer: **I do not own Twilight.

**Author's Note: Hey, I'm back. Sorry for the delay in updating. The editing in this chapter might not be as good as the other chapters, so I apologize for any mistakes; it's getting late, and I have to study my Biology for tomorrow. Anyway, enjoy the chapter; it took me a while to write, but it's finished now. Hope you enjoy! :-)**

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Chapter Twenty-seven: Biggest Idiots

(EPOV)

I don't think that Jasper, Emmett, and I had ever felt so stupid in our entire lives – excluding the time when the three of us had nearly exploded the stove in the kitchen when we had tried to make cookies – than at this moment, when we were being led by three police officers to three separate holding cells.

As soon as we heard the door close shut, Jasper said from the cell across from me, "We're screwed."

"Dude, we're worse than screwed. We're toasted. We're fried. We're burnt to a crisp," Emmett said. He was in the cell next to Jasper's.

"Do you think we'll be able to heal before the girls get here?" Jasper asked hopefully.

I snorted. "Not likely."

I had to admit – Philip had a pretty good fighting arm. He had punched each of us in the jaw before running, and now, we were beginning to sport wonderful shiners on our cheeks. He had also pushed Jasper headlong into a display of Mexican Lima Beans, and he now had a small cut on the side of his forehead. Emmett wasn't too beat up looking, despite the fact that he had a bruise forming on his cheek, and he had dislocated his elbow. I wasn't too bad – I was just punched in the nose as well, and my nose was still bleeding heavily. I had also dislocated my shoulder, and it was hurting like crazy.

"What are we going to tell them?" Emmett asked, rubbing his cheek.

"We should probably just tell them the truth. They're probably not going to like it too much – Bella especially – and we're probably going to regret our actions, but what's the worst that they can do?" Jasper asked.

Emmett snorted. "A lot of things, dude, seriously."

"Let's just hope Bella's EXTREMELY tired – that way she won't be as bad tempered," I said. We all knew Bella's temper flared when she was pregnant, and trust me – it was not something one wants to see.

"But that would make it even worse in the morning," Jasper said.

I thought about that fact for a moment. "You're right. Dang, we're toasted. Carlisle was right to run away when he did."

The door opened again and a police officer walked in. "Alright, you three. We called your father, and he's out in the waiting room, but he won't bail you out. Anyone else who would come bail you out?"

Emmett, Jasper, and I looked at each other, and we sighed simultaneously. We were about to do what we would possibly regret in the very near future. "Alice Cullen," Jasper said, sighing rather reluctantly.

The next several minutes were quiet. Finally, I asked, "Why did we let our protective sides take over us?"

Jasper answered, "We all wanted to get a crack at Philip."

"Besides, he deserved it," I muttered. I had punched him in the gut and kneed him in the groin. Emmett and Jasper had gotten their two cents in as well. "I wish he hadn't run away, the slimy, little weasel."

It was a few minutes short of an hour later when the officer walked in yet again and unlocked Emmett's and Jasper's cell doors. "Alright – you two are free to go." He pointed to me and said, "Your wife told me to keep you for an extra five minutes."

Uh oh. That must mean that Bella was really mad.

Emmett snickered. "Looks like somebody's in trouble." Jasper snickered, too.

"Be quiet, Emmett. Why am I supposed to stay for an extra five minutes?" I asked.

The police officer shrugged and said, "That's just what she said. I'm just following orders, sir – she seemed to be seething on the inside."

_Seething_. I winced. So she _was_ really mad. Oh, boy. This was going to be bad, I could tell. A seething Bella meant something bad was headed my way.

When I was finally led out into the waiting area, I could see Jasper, Alice, and Bella sitting in three of the seats. Elizabeth was on Bella's lap with her head nestled into Bella's neck, half awake. The others were nowhere to be seen, so I assumed that they had gone back to Forks. Obviously, Alice and Jasper needed a ride back.

Alice looked like she was trying to fight a huge grin, Jasper looked sheepish, and Bella looked…she looked completely calm, to my total surprise. Uh, oh – a calm Bella was something I was _not_ expecting.

"Ready to go?" Bella asked, throwing a sarcastic smile towards me, and then placing Elizabeth on the ground.

She walked towards the exit with Elizabeth, Alice throwing an amused grin at me before following them. Jasper shook his head and murmured to me as we began walking, "You're in for it big time, Eddie. Do you see how calm she is?"

I nodded my head. "I'm terrified of what's to come." Jasper snickered.

The ride home was silent. The girls had forced Jasper and I to sit in the back of the car with Elizabeth, while they got the front. I could tell Bella was seething on the inside, because as she drove, she was staring straight out at the road in front of us. I was sitting behind Alice, who was in the front passenger seat, and I could see that her lips were pressed into a firm line. She was obviously grinding her teeth together.

We dropped Alice and Jasper off at their house; they had walked over earlier. Before Jasper got out of the car he leaned over and murmured in my ear, "Good luck."

Bella was still silent as she walked up the apartment stairs, me following her. She unlocked the door and went inside. I followed her, holding a still half-awake Lizzy's hand. Bella quietly told her to go back to bed, and she did after hugging me and Bella.

Once Lizzy was safely in her bedroom, and she was sure that she was asleep, Bella turned and silently walked to the cupboard in the kitchen and grabbed a glass, filling it with water.

"Want to explain what the heck happened?" she asked, her voice quiet as she stood in front of the sink as she filled her glass. She kept her gaze on the spout, watching the water fill the glass.

I chuckled nervously. "Are you sure you want to? I mean, it's kind of late, and -."

"Tell me, Edward," she said, turning around to look at me. Her voice was calm still, and that was worse than yelling, because I knew I had it coming sooner or later, and I was _not_ looking forward to that.

Hmm…should I maybe leave out the part where Philip pulled out a gun? Should I leave out the fact that it was Philip that we had gotten into a fist-punch-you-in-the-gut fight with? I valued my life too much, so yes, I wouldn't tell her that.

I took a deep breath. Hopefully she wouldn't freak out that much.

"And you'd better tell me _everything_," she added. Crud, I was in so much trouble. "You have two minutes to explain everything – and I _mean_ everything."

_Just tell her, get it over with_, I chanted in my mind as I began recapping to Bella what had happened.

Should I bluff it a little bit? Yes, that seemed to be the safest. No need to tell her _who_ it was we punched. "We decided to go into the convenience store before we headed back home and as we were in the back of the store, we saw some guy trying to shoplift and so we tried to –" I got cut off by the look on Bella's face.

"Edward, I want the truth," she said softly. The look in her eyes told me she knew I was lying about who the guy had been.

I sighed. I looked down at the floor, scratching the back of my neck. "We…ran into Philip at the convenience store."

The color in drained slowly out of Bella's face, and her lips turned into a frown. "Philip? You got into a fist fight with Philip?" Her voice sounded shocked, surprised. I figured it would only take several seconds for it to sink in.

Slowly, I nodded, ignoring the throbbing of my nose. It had stopped bleeding, but I could tell that there was some dried blood on my face. I mentally braced myself for Bella's wrath, knowing she was most likely going to blow up.

However, surprisingly, she didn't. Instead, she closed her eyes, shook her head silently, and then turned around. She grabbed a dishrag from the drawer and wet it. I stood where I was, in the middle of the kitchen, watching her silently.

"Bella?" I asked hesitantly.

She turned around, and I saw that her lips had pressed again into a firm, straight line. She walked over, and pushed me softly over to the table, wincing when I sucked in a breath when she touched my shoulder. She pushed gently on my uninjured shoulder, making me sit down. She washed my face with the dish rag, still silent, her lips still pressed into a firm line.

I wondered when she would let me have it. Maybe she wouldn't. That made me a bit hopeful. And then she spoke, and all my hope of her forgiving me washed away.

"_What_ _the_ _heck_ were you thinking, Edward?" she said. She wasn't looking at me, only looking at my nose in concentration while she washed it.

"W-w-well," I stuttered, struggling to form appropriate words – anything could set her off.

"How could you have been so _stupid_?" she asked in a harsh sounding voice that was a little over a whisper. "What in the world made you boys get into a fist fight with Philip?"

"Bella, I'm so sorry," I said, trying to dazzle her by looking her in the eyes. "Please – forgive me."

Bella closed her eyes and pursed her lips again. "Don't even _think_ about trying to dazzle me, Edward Anthony Cullen." Uh-oh. She said my full name. She was definitely mad now – she only called me by my full name when she was mad at me. "Answer the question."

"We weren't thinking," I said quickly, not wanting to know the consequences of not answering.

"_Exactly_!" Bella exclaimed. "You didn't think! You boys don't have enough sense when it comes to the 'once in a life time' chance of getting to throw a punch at a guy you really hate! Only Carlisle had enough sense to back away when it was the right time!"

Her voice was louder, at a normal speaking volume, but I could hear the fury behind it.

"Sweetie, I'm sorry. We're all sorry. You don't know how idiotic the three of us felt when we got arrested," I said.

"Don't 'sweetie' me," she said, and walked back over to the sink to wash off the cloth. When she turned back to me, her expression was finally furious. "Did you boys even realize how badly hurt you could have been?"

I hung my head shamefully. "No," I sighed. "We didn't. Our protective reflexes kicked in and took over our brains."

Bella sighed, frustrated. "How many times do I have to tell you that you don't have to be protective over me? I can take care of myself perfectly well. You didn't have to go out and get yourself in a fist fight with the one guy that I don't want any of you around period and then get arrested!"

"It was just our reflexes. Jasper recognized him and then it just went from there," I said. "We're really sorry, Bella."

I got up and went over to her to try to wrap my arms around her in apology, but Bella just stepped aside and moved around to the other side. "Don't touch me," she said. Her expression was still furious, but I could also see that fear was in her eyes. I cocked my head to the side a bit.

Bella looked at me for a split second before sighing and looking down at the floor, biting her lip. I stood there silently, patiently waiting for her to do something, or say anything; she just needed space to breathe and cool off.

"Please, Bella. I'm so sorry. Am I forgiven?" I asked, my voice only above a whisper.

She looked up, and her expression was weary and exhausted looking, not a speck of fury evident. Tears were beginning to trail down her cheeks, and I wanted to reach forward and wipe them away, but I knew I shouldn't. For a long moment, she stood there, in the middle of the kitchen, keeping her gaze upon the ground. I could see the wheels turning in her mind; she was deciding whether or not to forgive me.

And then she wiped her cheeks with her hand and said, "Only on _one_ condition."

"And that would be?" I asked.

"Is that all that happened?" she asked. She was looking straight at me and her tone and face was deadly serious. Crud, she knew me too well.

I scratched the back of my neck, chuckling a little nervously. "Is it too late to mention that he…uh…pulled a…gun out of his pocket?"

Bella's mouth dropped open. "He pulled out a gun?"

"It didn't hurt any of us," I said quickly. "Only a couple ceiling lights, but other than that, no one was hurt." I was trying to make it sound like it wasn't that big of a deal, but, apparently, it wasn't working.

She shook her head, her anger flaring up again. "You _could have_ gotten hurt!"

"But we didn't," I said.

"But you _could have_," she said. Tears were welling up again in her eyes.

"Bella, we're all okay, there's nothing to be worried about anymore," I said.

She shook her head again, turned and walked towards the bedroom. I followed her, intent on attempting to calm her down and make her not angry at me. But just as I was about to follow her in, she slammed the door in my face.

I stood there in front of the door for a few seconds, surprised. And then I let out a deep breath and knocked on the door. "Bella? Please open the door."

The door opened after a second, and she appeared in the doorway. She pushed a pillow and a blanket into my arms and then slammed the door shut again without saying a word.

Apparently, she was kicking me out of the bedroom tonight and forcing me to sleep on the couch. I sighed and headed to the living room.

Yep. Emmett, Jasper, and I were definitely the biggest idiots in America.

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**Author's Note: **

**Once again, sorry for the long delay. But I finally got it posted. I started school today, and I'm personally very glad (call me a weirdo, but I like school). I am sad that I wasn't able to finish the story before school started, but I AM going to be writing after I finish my homework, and on the weekends and whenever my dad isn't home. I'll try to update as quickly as I can. This story is really important to me, and it keeps me sane. I LOVE all the reviews - we're at 612 reviews! **

**Next Chapter: Edward and Bella have another talk, and an old friend of Bella's shows up at the bookshop. Only things I'm giving away. -giggles evilly-. Remember to Review on your way out, please. It keeps me writing! Until Next Time: NerdyGuRu2**

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**NEXT CHAPTER:**

The floorboard halfway there creaked under my feet, and he turned around at the noise. "Hey," he said. He was holding the still smoking frying pan in one hand with a potholder and then a spatula in the other.

"Hey," I said quietly, coming to a stop at one of the table chairs.

Who was going to break first?


	29. It's A Small World

**Disclaimer: **I do not own Twilight. I just own Lollie and Josh, Elizabeth, and Alex.

**Author's Note: Hello readers! Just so you know, as for Lollie - I couldn't resist making her annoying. Just picture her as the preppy cheerleader kind of gal, add on an annoying high voice, and you got yourself a Lollie. The second half of the first part of this chapter was written early this morning, like before 6 a.m., so I was trying to get my brain into working mode. Just so you know, they are not going to be naming their son any of those names. I already know what they're naming him. :-)**

**Ok, on with the story! I sincerely hope you enjoy it! **

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Chapter Twenty-eight: It's a Small World

(BPOV)

For several hours that night, I laid on our bed, not able to sleep. Part of me wanted to go out into the living room and apologize to Edward for being too harsh with him, but the rest of me just needed to be alone to cool off.

And, as I lied there, staring wide-eyed at the ceiling, I felt all my anger toward him ebb away. The anger was replaced by guilt – a huge wave of guilt that was so overpowering I contemplated for the tenth time on running out and forgiving Edward.

I felt guilty because I had snapped at him without meaning to, knowing that Edward was _still_ alive and breathing, and hadn't been injured extensively by Philip, excluding the fact that he had a bloody nose and a dislocated shoulder. I felt guilty because I loved him so much. I felt guilty because I had let him go to Port Angeles. After this thought ran through my mind, I mentally groaned and pulled Edward's pillow over my face.

And then the guilt began washing away, and was replaced by…nothing. After the feeling of nothing creeped over me, I finally – after many hours – managed to fall into an un-peaceful, restless sleep. Or, in my opinion, doze.

It must have been somewhere around eight o'clock that a smell wafted under the closed bedroom door and up under the pillow to my nose, waking me from my little nap. I lifted the pillow off my face and sat up on my elbows. Was something burning? Who was cooking at this hour?

My head pounded as I sat up, and I moaned quietly. What a great day to get a pounding headache.

Slowly, I got off the bed and headed towards the bedroom door. I realized I was still in the clothes I had been wearing the day before – jeans and a T-shirt. I at least had kicked off my shoes, which were now on the floor at the end of the bed. I quietly opened the bedroom door and peeked out to see Edward scraping something off from a smoking frying pan. From what I could see, there was flour covering the counter and the cupboards. I shook my head in wry amusement and headed quietly out into the kitchen.

The floorboard halfway there creaked under my feet, and he turned around at the noise. "Hey," he said. He was holding the still smoking frying pan in one hand with a potholder and then a spatula in the other.

"Hey," I said quietly, coming to a stop at one of the table chairs.

Who was going to break first?

"I'm sorry," I said. "I didn't mean to snap at you last night." My voice was quiet, not angry.

"I'm sorry, too. You're not…mad anymore…are you?" he asked cautiously. I barely managed to hold back a small smile. Barely.

Slowly, silently, I shook my head. "I'm not mad at you anymore. I guess it lasted only a couple of hours."

A flicker of an amused grin flitted across Edward's face, and then after a second, stayed there. "So…are we cool?"

I looked down at the ground, biting my lip to fight the smile that was threatening to break through. I chuckled softly and nodded. "We're cool."

He grinned and I slowly began walking towards him again, this time looking at him. "But," I added, and his grin faltered the tiniest bit. "You have to promise that you will _never _do that again, deal?" I was standing in front of him now, not paying attention to the fact that there was flour smeared across his cheeks, chin, hair, ear, _and _forehead. It was also all over his shirt.

His grin widened and he nodded. "Okay, deal. Do I get to kiss you now, or do I have to do something to make you kiss me?"

Our faces were leaning closer together and I could already smell the sweetness of his breath on my face, intoxicating my brain. I grinned and closed the distance between us. As always, we both melted into the kiss. We only broke apart a few seconds later when a large crash sounded.

I let out a shriek as I jumped against the counter, placing a hand over my chest. "What was that?"

Edward barely held back a snort of laughter, bending over to pick something up off the kitchen floor. "I…uh…dropped the frying pan," he said and began laughing.

Letting out a breath of relief, I asked, "What were you doing with the frying pan anyway?" After a second, I added, "And why are you covered in flour?"

"Pancake mix, actually," Edward said as he placed the pan back on the stove. "I was trying to make you breakfast in bed as an apology. The bag exploded when I tried to open the bag and I got covered in pancake mix. Then they kind of got burnt. And we were kind of out of spray, and we don't have any oil so –."

I cut him off with another kiss. "Did you ever try using butter?"

He grinned sheepishly and shook his head. "No. I just thought that I would flip them over real quickly."

I just shook my head, laughing. "How about you go change your clothes and I'll make the breakfast?"

He smiled. "Okay. And just so you know, I plan on never getting into anymore fist fights with people we hate."

I smiled. "Good. You at least did punch him in the gut, right?"

He laughed and nodded. "Oh, yeah. We got him good." He leaned down and started talking to my belly. "And you, my dear Arnold Charlie Cullen, will learn to use the punching arm as a football arm when Jasper, Emmett, and I teach you how to play football after you're born."

My mouth opened in horror as I wrapped my arms around my stomach protectively as I felt the baby kick at the sound of Edward's voice. "Okay, two things. One, you boys are not going to teach him football until he is at least 10 years old, and two, we are _not_, I repeat not_, _going to name our child Arnold Charlie. It's a hideous name."

Edward stood up fully. "What's wrong with that name? How about Arnold _Schwarzenegger _Cullen?"

"We are not naming him after the governor of California, so you can take that name off your list," I said.

"Okay. How about tonight we talk about names, as the last two nights have sort of been...interrupted with the whole James/Philip debacle?" he asked.

I smiled. "It's a date. Now go change before you get flour everywhere."

Before Edward could respond, however, Lizzy appeared in the kitchen from her bedroom and came over to us. "Daddy, isn't it illegal to name someone who already has the same name? I don't want my baby brother to get arrested because he has the same name as…as…whoever you were talking about."

I bit my lip to fight back a laugh and said, "It isn't illegal. There are many people who get named after their fathers time and time again." I jerked my thumb towards Edward and said, "He's just being silly."

00

Later the next afternoon, I was down in the bookshop, ordering the books someone had placed an order on. Just as I was hanging up the phone, the baby kicked again, and I placed my hand on my stomach, giggling.

Edward and I had gone through the boy names of the baby name book the night before and written down every name that we liked. Some of them, we didn't agree with each other on, but we nonetheless put them down on the paper, knowing that it would get eliminated from the list. So far, we had 42 names, and tonight we were going to cross off a lot of them.

At almost quarter of four, the bookshop door opened and the bell above it tingled. I looked up and saw Edward coming through the door.

"Hey, what are you doing here? Did you get out early?" I asked as he came around to the back of the desk to kiss me.

"Yes. Hello," he said, smiling my favorite crooked smile and kissing me again. "Where's Elizabeth?"

"She's upstairs with Alex. I checked on them a few minutes ago and they were playing their own version of Candy Land," I said.

He laughed. "So, how's our little Ronald and his mother doing today?"

Rolling my eyes at the name, I said, "He's good. Making me a little tired, but other than that, we're doing okay. And I already said no about the name Ronald."

"Oh, come on. I put it on the list. We could always nickname him Ronnie," he said. "And it's a different spelling on Arnold."

I shook my head. "No," I said, just as the bell above the door tingled again and a woman who looked to be about my age walked in, followed by a man who looked to be about the same age.

"So, we still on for the name date tonight?" Edward asked.

I nodded. "Only if you promise to take Ronald off the list," I said just as the woman and man came over.

"Bella?!" screeched a voice that sounded familiar, but I couldn't place it. "Oh, my gosh, it's you! What a small world this piece of rock and land is!"

The man and woman had come up to the desk, and were now looking at me with surprise on their faces. The man was as tall as Edward and looked like he worked out; he kind of looked like a sports athlete. The woman was a different story, a complete opposite. Her really wavy, dirty blonde hair was pulled back into a half ponytail, and she had tons of make-up and what looked like expensive jewelry on.

There were only two people who these people could be, but I couldn't place my finger on it.

"Bella, don't you remember us?" the woman screeched loudly in an excited, yet annoying voice, shrieking an annoying laugh.

And then it came to me.

"Lollie Diamond?" I asked, hoping to the heavens that this was not _the_ Lollie Diamond. "The Lollie Diamond from Lennor High School?"

"That's the one, doll," she screeched. She gestured behind her and said, "Remember Josh Hicks? We're dating now. Small world isn't it?"

I nodded my head. "It's a very, very small world, Lollie."

"And look at you, still working in a bookshop. Of all the darn places we could have run into each other after you ran off back when we were eighteen! And several states away?" Lollie said. "Isn't it just a small world, Josh?"

"It is. It's nice to see you again, Bella," Josh said. "Weren't you the one who was casted as a tree in that middle school play? I remember you fell over and rolled off the stage and knocked over the poor piano teacher, Ms. Hankin, right?"

My cheeks heated up, and I could see Edward fighting back a huge grin, barely holding back a poorly disguised snort of laughter. I quickly elbowed him in the ribs before saying, "Yep that was me."

"So, you still work in a bookshop, Bella? That's hilarious, you know!" Lollie said. Man, she was as annoying as she was back in high school and middle school.

"I _own_ the bookshop, Lollie," I said, putting on my best fake cheery smile. I hated Lollie with my guts. She was the Lennor High School version of Jessica Stanley, but only more annoying.

Lollie's mouth fell open in surprise. "Wow? Own?" Then her eyes landed on Edward and she asked, "And who's this guy?"

"Edward, this Lollie Diamond and Josh Hicks. They went to the high school and middle school I went to in Phoenix. Lollie, Josh, this is my husband, Edward Cullen," I said, introducing the three of them. "We've known each other since we were babies."

"Pleased to meet you. Bella talked a lot about Phoenix in her letters," Edward said.

Lollie's eyes widened. "Husband?! Wow, you got luh-cky. Maybe you are more sociable than we thought." I glared at her, feeling the tears spark behind my eyes. Stupid hormones!

All of a sudden, Elizabeth and Alex came down the stairs from the apartment and came over to us. Elizabeth broke out into a smile when she saw Edward. "Daddy!" She went over to him and wrapped her arms around his waist. Lollie smiled and said, "And who might you two be?"

Elizabeth nestled her face into Edward's side, clearly turning incredibly shy.

"This is my daughter, Elizabeth, and her friend, Alex," I said, messing the top of each of their heads as I said their name.

Lollie's mouth dropped again. "A kid?! Oh, my Bella. Did you get" – it was at this point that Edward and I covered Lizzy's and Alex's ears – "pregnant in high school or something? She can't be more than 6 years and we graduated six years ago. Wow, you _are_ more –."

"Lollie, I suggest that you leave."

I had expected to hear these words come from my mouth, but apparently, Edward had sensed my temper flaring that should not be released in front of the two six year olds, and beaten me to it.

The woman in question raised her eyebrows in Edward's direction and said, "Alright. We were just wandering about town any-hoo. Later, Book-Nerd. Come on, Josh." She grabbed Josh's hand and pulled him out of the bookshop.

I uncovered Alex's ears and Edward uncovered Elizabeth's ears.

"Who the heck was that?" Edward asked.

"Lollie," I said, glaring after her. "She kind of had a conflict against me. I didn't have anything against her, but she wasn't the number 1 person I liked. More like 1,000th person." I got rid of my glare and turned to the two six year olds. "So, what can we do for you two ladies?"

"We're hungry," Lizzy said.

"You are? How about a snack before Alex gets picked up?" I asked, and the two girls nodded. "Alright, go on upstairs and I'll be right there."

"Okay," they said and went back upstairs.

After they were gone, I let out a breath and banged my head against the desk. Edward rubbed my back soothingly, and I didn't have to look to tell that there was an amused smile on his face. I banged my head one more time and then sat back up in my chair.

Then I got up and walked to the bookshop door and flipped the sign to 'closed'. I didn't know if I could handle any more people. Today had been very busy, and all I wanted was to just sit down and possibly take a nap.

"Well, that was one annoying reunion ever," I said, and walked past Edward and went upstairs. Edward snickered and followed me.

"You knocked over a _piano teacher_?"

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**Author's Note: **

**Finally, a stress-free, funny chapter! Okay, does anybody else agree with me that Elizabeth is so cute? **

**Next Chapter: Our favorite couple finally decide on a name for their baby boy, with a little help from Elizabeth! And, Bella has another mood swing. The chapter probably will not be up this weekend, because I have to read **_**The Red Badge of Courage**_** for school. But I gauruntee you that it won't take me 10 days to write it! The story is coming to a close soon - maybe about four or so more chapters, then the epilogue - and there will be one more big plot twist to the story.**

**Remember to Review! Until Next Time: NerdyGuRu2**

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	30. Gizmo

**Disclaimer: I do not own Twilight.**

**Author's Note: Okay, I am SOO sorry for not updating sooner. I was having major writers block and I had to figure out how to frame the plot of this chapter. I've been busy with school, too. Just so everyone knows, I really am trying my best to update chapters as quickly as possible, but school is my first priority now, and this story is a very close second. But I promise you that the next chapter won't take as long. **

**Now feel free to go ahead and torture me with ninjas. Hope you enjoy the chapter, and once again, I am so sorry it took me so long!**

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Chapter Twenty-nine: Gizmo

(BPOV)

Later that day, we were in the kitchen. I was stirring in the noodles for chicken noodle soup that I was making for supper, and Edward was sitting at the kitchen table with Elizabeth, playing Go Fish, when there was a knock on the kitchen door. Edward went to answer it.

It was Jasper and Emmett, with sheepish looking grins on their faces.

"Hey guys," Edward said as he let them in. "What's up?"

"Alice and Rosalie sent us over here to apologize to you, Bella. We're sorry we didn't apologize to you on Sunday, but we figured that we should let you cool down first before we did. You know, so that we wouldn't get the full wrath of your hormones," Emmett said.

Jasper rolled his eyes and elbowed Emmett in the stomach before saying, "Bella, we're sorry. We kind of let our overprotective side take over the three of us, and we didn't mean to. We hope you're not mad anymore, and that you'll forgive us."

I waved it off. "That's alright. And I'm not mad anymore. Edward explained everything. Just promise that you'll never do _anything _like that again, or you _will_ get it."

Jasper and Emmett gulped nervously and nodded their heads. "We promise," they said in unison.

As Edward and I sat on the couch that night after supper, just holding each other, the baby decided to kick me in the gut. I giggled and placed my hand where he kicked, saying, "You have got to stop kicking me there." I giggled as he kicked again.

Edward laughed. "He's definitely going to be into soccer. Can you see it already? '_Robert Engelbregt Cullen Kicks the Winning Goal and Becomes Soccer Champion!'_" He rubbed my stomach and asked, "What do you think of that, huh?"

I snorted. "Robert Engelbregt? Okay, we have _got_ to choose a name for the kid because if we don't, he's going to end up with some hideous name and all the kids at his school would tease him and laugh at him." I reached over and grabbed the piece of paper with all the names from the stand next to the couch and handed it to Edward.

"Okay, so far we have Benjamin, David, Andrew, Jonathan, Anthony, Matthew, Cole, William, Joel, Daniel, Jeremiah, Jacob, Timothy, Isaiah, Lucas, Thomas, Paul, Robert, Arnold, Charlie, Joshua, Levi, Mark, Zachariah, Micah, Jonah, Peter, Josiah, Ashton, Asher, Seth, Moses, Aaron, Evan, Christian, Mason, Tyler, Oliver, Aiden, Nathaniel, Samuel, and Calvin," Edward said.

"I like all of them," I said. "Well, not the name Joel. I never really liked that name."

"Me either," he said, taking a pen and crossing it off the list. "Now we're down to 41."

"What about the name Asher?" I said. "Asher Cullen?"

"Isn't that a girl's name?" asked Edward.

"I think it can be a unisex name. There was a girl in my biology class named Asher back in Phoenix," I said. "Let's put it down on the maybe list." I got the notepad from the stand and a pen and wrote the name down.

We sifted through each of the names, testing them out, and eliminating every one of them. None of them sounded exactly right with the last name Cullen.

As we were just near the end of the list, Elizabeth came out of her room and got up on the couch and snuggled up next to me. "Hello. What are we doing?" she asked.

"We are picking out a name for your baby brother," Edward said.

Elizabeth grinned her cute little grin and said, "I know what we can call him!" she said.

"And what would that be?" I asked.

"We could call him L.B. That's short for Little Brother!" she said. "You know, like in _Mulan_."

Edward chuckled and reached across to ruffle her hair. "We would be able to call him that for a little while, but then he would get bigger and I don't think it would really fit when he's older than 10 years old."

"Oh," Elizabeth said, looking downhearted. Then she scrunched up her nose and asked, "We aren't going to name him Arnold are we?"

Edward and I burst out laughing. "No, we're not," I giggled, shaking my head.

"Good, I don't like that name. Who names their kid that?" she asked, shuddering and causing Edward to laugh even harder. She pointed a finger at one of the names on the list and said, "You should name him that."

Edward and I looked at the name.

"Nathaniel," I whispered, cocking my head to the side. "I like it."

"Nathaniel…I like it, too. It goes good with Cullen, too," Edward said. "What about Nathaniel Isaiah? Nathan for short?" he asked, looking at me.

I tilted my head a bit. "Nathaniel Isaiah Cullen. It has a ring to it. What do you think, Lizzy?"

She nodded, beaming, obviously happy that she had helped named her little brother.

"What do you think, sweetie? Do you like the name Nathan?" I asked, placing my hands on my stomach. Little Nathan kicked as if to say he liked the name and I giggled and patted the spot where he kicked.

Elizabeth placed her hand on the spot where Nathan kicked. He kicked again and she gasped in surprise, looking up at me and Edward, grinning. "He's kicking!"

"Oh, I'll be right back," Edward said, and got up from the couch. He went over to the refrigerator and brought back the Ultrasound photo we had gotten at the four month check-up, the check-up where we had found out it was a boy.

He sat back down and said, "What do you think? Does he look like a Nathaniel?"

I giggled and nodded. "There he is, Elizabeth – your baby brother, Nathanial."

00

Two days later, on Wednesday, I came out of my bedroom, zipping up my hoodie, saying, "Come on, Lizzy, time for school." She was sitting at the kitchen table, eating her cereal. Or, well, playing with it.

"Mommy, do I have to go to school today?" she asked, looking up at me.

I nodded. "Yes, you do, sweetie. Hurry up and brush your teeth and I'll take you to school."

She sighed and got off the chair, heading down the hallway to the bathroom. I raised my eyebrows in confusion as I took her half-eaten bowl of cereal over to the counter and rinsed it out. It wasn't like her to not eat all of her cereal.

As I drove down the street the elementary school was on, I noticed Elizabeth was a little quieter than usual. I glanced over at her in the front passenger's seat. She looked a little tired. "Are you feeling okay, sweetie?" I asked as I pulled up in front of the school.

She nodded as she unbuckled her seatbelt. "I'm fine, mommy."

"Alright. Bye, sweetie, I love you. Have fun in school," I said. I kissed her forehead, noticing her forehead was a little warm.

She waved good-bye as she got out of the car. "Bye mommy."

I watched after her a little worriedly, wondering if she was catching something.

Later that day, as I was putting some letters in the mailbox down the street, I heard a meow behind me. I turned around and looked down. A small orange kitten was sitting on its hind legs, looking up at me with big, hopeful yellow eyes. I raised my eyebrows and put the last letter in the mailbox. Then I slowly turned and walked back towards the bookshop.

I stopped and turned around. The cat had begun to follow me, and stopped when it noticed I had stopped. Slowly, I began walking again, looking back to see if the cat had followed me.

It had.

When I reached the bookshop a moment later, I went inside and quickly shut the door so that the cat wouldn't follow me in. No such luck. The kitten slipped in past me, making it just in time for the door to shut.

Sighing, I bent down and looked at the kitten. "Now where did you come from?"

The kitten just looked at me and meowed. I bit back a giggle as it suddenly began rubbing itself against my legs, purring. "Oh, no, no, you can't do that," I said, picking the small kitten up and bringing it over to the desk. I sat it down on the desk and sat down in my chair so I could have a better look at it.

The kitten was small, looking only to be about 5 or 6 weeks old. From the looks of it, it had been wandering around the streets of Forks for a while, alone. Maybe it was a stray. It certainly looked like one; its wet fur was all matted down from the rain, it looked like it was starving to death and it looked like it was in need of a good bath.

The bookshop door opened just then and Alice walked in.

"Hey Bella! Who's that?" Alice asked as she walked up to the desk.

"I don't know. It followed me home from the mailbox down the street," I said.

"It's adorable!" Alice cooed. "It's probably a stray."

"I think it _is _a stray," I said. "I haven't seen any 'Missing Cat' posters around town. Have you seen any?" She shook her head as the orange kitten rubbed up against my chest, purring. Alice laughed.

"Bella, I think there's been a new addition to the family," she said, giggling. "Are you going to keep it?"

I shrugged. "I think it needs a bath first before there's any decision about keeping the cat."

Two minutes later, after putting up the closed sign back on the bookshop door – the bookshop was now closed on Wednesdays –, Alice and I headed upstairs to the apartment, the orange kitten in tow. We took the kitten into the bathroom and filled the tub with warm water.

""I'll hold the kitten down while you attempt to wash it," Alice said as held the beginning-to-squirm kitten in her arms.

It was this day that we found out that this kitten did not like water at all. As I attempted to wash it, it squirmed in Alice's hands.

After about forty-five minutes and almost getting our pants soaked, we managed to get the kitten washed and dried. As soon as Alice let it free, it jumped out of her grasp and ran for the closed bathroom door. We giggled and got off the bathroom floor.

"Phew! That was quite the adventure," Alice said, sitting down at the kitchen table as I found a can of tuna and put it into a bowl. "We can note that this cat does not like water at all."

I giggled. "Yep, pretty much."

"I'm sure Lizzy would love him," Alice said.

"Him?" I queried, raising my eyebrows.

She nodded. "I could tell that it was a him when we were giving him a bath. Some guy in my physics class back in college told me how tell between a girl cat and boy cat. And that cat, dear friend, is a boy."

"A boy, huh?" I said, looking at the cat as he gulped down the tuna. "Then I guess we're going to have to find a name for you."

"He looks like a Gizmo, don't you think?" Alice asked.

I laughed, looking at the cat. "I guess. Yeah, he kind of does look like a Gizmo, doesn't he?" He finished the tuna, looked up at us, and meowed, causing me and Alice to break out into laughter.

"Hey, Gizmo, guess what," Alice said as the kitten walked over to her and rubbed himself up against her arm. "You have a new home."

I laughed. "Now he just has to get past Edward."

"Oh, Edward won't mind. He loves cats," Alice said, petting Gizmo's head.

"I'm going to call Alex's mom and make sure that Elizabeth is alright," I said. "She was acting a little weird this morning when I dropped her off at school."

Just as I was getting up from the table, the phone rang. I picked it up and said, "Hello?"

"Bella?" It was Marie, Alex's mother. She sounded frantic.

"Marie? You sound frantic, is everything alright?" I asked, my heart skipping a beat. Please let it not be Elizabeth.

"I'm so sorry, Bella. Please forgive me. I didn't mean to. I went out to the front of the house to get the mail and when I got back to the backyard, Elizabeth was nowhere to be seen," Marie said.

My heart plummeted down to my stomach. "What do you mean, Marie?" I asked.

"Elizabeth has gone missing. Alex said she turned her back for just a moment and when she turned around again Lizzy was gone. She didn't hear or see anything." Marie was close to sobbing now. "Oh, Bella, please forgive me. We searched through the entire house, but we couldn't find her."

"It's alright, Marie, it's not your fault. I've got to go," I said.

"Let me know if I can do anything at all. _Anything_," Marie emphasized.

"Okay. Bye," I said, and pushed the off button.

I closed my eyes and leaned against the counter, tears welling up behind my eyelids. My baby was gone. My sweet, innocent six-year old was gone….

"Bella?" asked a soft, worried voice. I opened my eyes and saw Alice standing in front of me. "What happened?"

"Elizabeth is gone."

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**Author's Note:**

**Okay, before I go on: DON'T KILL ME!! I'm extremely and eternally sorry to leave you on a cliffhanger like this, but it had to come eventually. I do promise that the next chapter won't take as long to write. And I know that it was really mean of me to make Lizzy get kidnapped, but it is part of the plotline.**

**On a lighter note, they have finally named the baby. If anybody is interested in what the meanings of the names are - Nathaniel: Gift of God; Isaiah: God is Salvation. **

**Anyway, remember to review on your way out (You'll get the next chapter faster!) Until Next Time, NerdyGuRu2  
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**NEXT CHAPTER:**

"Edward? Oh, thank goodness you answered your phone! You need to come home." Bella's voice sounded weak with relief, yet filled with panic and fear.

"Why, is something wrong?"

"Elizabeth's gone!" 


	31. IMPORTANT NOTE: PLEASE READ

---PLEASE DO NOT REVIEW TO THIS---

**Author's Note:**

**I am EXTREMELY sorry to post this Author's Note, but I have to.**

**I know I haven't updated in, like, over two weeks. The reason for this is because I've been really busy with school. And I **_**still**_** haven't been sleeping all that great, so I am still really tired during the day. **

**I've also had another major case of writers block. But it is almost gone, and I am almost cured. I promise that the next chapter will be up sometime this week. I have a book report due, and I really need to read the book. **

**I really hope that all my readers that I've had since the beginning of Hard Descision's are still reading, despite my lackness of updating. I'm sure everybody else has been busy with school and life, right?**

**Thanks for reading this author's note. The next update won't be one, and it should be up very soon. **

**Once again, I am very, very, very, very, very, very sorry. Now I have to go study Biology. **

**Until Next Time: NerdyGuRu2**

**P.S. – I changed the ending of last chapter, so go check it out. I reposted the chapter. **


	32. Worst Nightmare

**Disclaimer: **I do not own Twilight.

**Author's Note: I am really sorry for not updating....reallllly sorry. But now I'm back, and I promise the next chapter won't take as long. Anyway, on with the chapter that I know all of you have been waiting for...**

**Enjoy!**

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Chapter Thirty: Worst Nightmare

(EPOV)

I was walking toward the hospital cafeteria with Carlisle when my cell rang on my belt. I unhooked it and flipped it open. "Hello?"

"Edward? Oh, thank goodness you answered your phone! You need to come home," Bella's voice sounded weak with relief, yet filled with panic and fear.

"Why, is something wrong?"

"Elizabeth's gone!"

I stopped dead in my tracks. Carlisle, noticing that I had stopped, stopped as well and turned to look at me, a curious expression on his face. "What?"

"Elizabeth's gone!" Bella repeated.

"What do you mean gone?" I asked.

"Alex's mother called just a few minutes ago and told me that she went to go get the mail and when she returned, Elizabeth was gone!"

My blood ran cold, and I'm pretty sure that I lost all color in my face. Elizabeth…was gone?

"Edward, please come home," Bella whispered, her voice wavering with tears.

"I'll be there soon. Don't worry, Bella," I said. "In the meantime, call Charlie and tell him she's missing. I love you. Don't worry." And with that, I flipped my phone shut.

As soon as I did, I ran to the front desk and told the receptionist to clear my schedule for that afternoon. Then, as fast as I possibly could, I ran out of the hospital. Carlisle was close behind me, calling my name. "Edward!"

He caught up to me and grabbed my shoulder, causing me to stop and turn around. "Edward, what's happening?"

"Elizabeth's gone," I said, breathing deeply to steady my breathing. I couldn't believe it. Our worst nightmare had come true.

Carlisle's mouth dropped open in shock. "She's gone? What do you mean by gone?"

"I don't know. But I have a pretty good feeling about who took her. I have to get back home." I started towards my car.

Carlisle followed me. "Who took her?"

"I'm guessing her uncle – her _biological _uncle," I said.

(BPOV)

After I called Edward, Alice told me the same thing Edward told me – call Charlie.

So I did.

Charlie was furious – and shocked – of course to learn his granddaughter was missing. But when he calmed down after a minute, he said he would file a missing person's report.

Every mother's worst nightmare had come true – learning that their child had gone missing.

I couldn't believe it.

My baby was missing. Who knew where the heck she was. She could be miles away from Forks by now. I didn't know _anything_ about the whereabouts of my six year old daughter. I just knew the fact that Elizabeth – _Edward's_ and mine daughter – was gone. And that there was a potential probability that I might never be able to hold her in my arms ever again.

Fifteen minutes after I called him, Edward arrived at the apartment.

"Edward!" I said, hurrying from where I was leaning against the kitchen counter to him and throwing my arms around his neck.

"What's going on?" he asked as he held me closely to his chest.

"Elizabeth has gone missing," Alice said. She looked scared and worried.

"Did you call Charlie?" he asked. We nodded.

"We have to go and look for her," Alice said. "Charlie's going to help us."

Edward nodded in agreement. "We do. But we don't know where she is. She could be anywhere in the state of Washington. La Push, Seattle…" He sighed in frustration and ran a hand through his bronze hair.

"But we do know who took her," I said. "James and Philip. I really hate those guys."

"Me, too. They need to get therapy," Alice muttered. She pulled out her cell and began dialing a number. "Let's call Jasper and Emmett. They'll want to help look. Is Carlisle still at work, Edward?" she asked, looking at him.

He shook his head. "He was walking with me to the cafeteria when Bella called me. He said that he was going back home to tell Esme. He'll help us look."

Someone on the other end of the phone picked up and Alice said, "Emmett, we need your help…"

A half hour later, the whole family – including Charlie – was in the kitchen, getting ready to go out and look for Elizabeth.

Edward, Emmett, Jasper, Carlisle, and Charlie had serious looks on their faces and Esme, Alice, Rosalie, and I – especially me – had had a mixture between scared and worried. We were all worried and scared for Elizabeth; who knew what James and Philip were doing to Elizabeth at that moment.

And that thought absolutely _terrified_ me.

Even though I wanted to look for Elizabeth as well with the family, Edward convinced me to stay at the apartment with Esme. It took a few minutes, but I finally reluctantly caved in.

Before he could leave the apartment door, I stopped him by his shirt – he had changed out of his doctor clothes – which caused him to turn around.

I looked up into his eyes and asked, "We will find her right?"

Edward pulled me close against his chest and whispered into the top of my head, "We _will_ find her, Bella. Don't worry."

"I just miss her so much. I can't lose her," I whispered.

Edward put his finger under my chin and lifted it so I faced him. "So do I." He leaned in and placed his lips on mine. After a couple seconds, he said, "I love you."

"I love you, too," I said, and kissed him one more time before he hugged me and left.

00

_A few hours later…_

(ElizPOV)

My eyes opened to voices coming from someplace. Where was I? All I remembered was my head hurting and my stomach kind of itching and my throat was kind of scratchy while I was playing with Alex in her backyard, and then all of a sudden being grabbed by someone and then shoved me into the back of a car.

I sat up and looked around.

I was in a dimly-lit room with a bathtub, toilet, and sink. It looked unfamiliar. Suddenly, I realized that I was in some strange place that was who knows how far from my home, where my mommy and daddy were, and I began to get scared.

Tears welled up in my eyes, and my bottom lip began to tremble.

What was going to happen to me? I didn't know where I was, or who the voices belonged to.

Who _did_ the voices belong to?

The voices sounded like they were coming from the other room.

"…you plan on doing, now that you have the girl?" asked the first voice.

There was an evil sounding chuckle, and then a second voice said, "Just wait and see, Philip."

The first voice, who I guess belonged to the guy named Philip, said, "You, uh, you aren't planning on…killing her…are you?"

The only reply the other voice gave was a deep, throaty, evil-sounding chuckle.

My bottom lip trembled even more and tears spilled over and rolled down my cheeks. _Kill her_? That didn't mean me…did it?

I was even more scared now.

00

(EsPOV)

After everyone left the apartment, I turned to Bella, who was leaning against the kitchen sink with her arms crossed over her small, rounded belly. I saw the tears welling up in her eyes, and I felt a wave of remorse for her.

Her daughter – my granddaughter – had gone missing; her sweet six-year old girl who meant the whole world to her, and the rest of our family. We all loved her so much.

Ever since the day Elizabeth had been born, I saw the love in Bella's eyes every time she looked at her daughter. I could see the brightness and wisdom that had come over her when Bella became a mother. But now, it was gone, replaced by…emptiness and fear.

I went over to her and wrapped my arm around her shoulder. "How about I make us some tea and we can sit and talk, alright?" I guided her over to the kitchen table before turning around and getting a kettle and filling it with water.

After I placed it on the burner to boil, I walked back over to the table and sat down in the chair across from Bella.

As I was doing so, a cat all of a sudden jumped onto the table. "Well, who is this, Bella? He's adorable," I said as it began rubbing itself up against Bella's arm which was laid across the table.

A slight smile appeared on Bella's lips as she ran her hand across the cat's back. "He followed me home from the mailbox down the street earlier this afternoon." She picked the cat up and placed it on the floor. "Alice named him Gizmo. I completely forget he was here, with everything that's been happening this afternoon."

The smile disappeared from her face and she sighed.

That was when a thought occurred to me. "Bella, there's something more to this than Elizabeth missing, isn't there?" I asked.

Bella's head snapped up. She was silent for a moment before sighing and saying quietly, "Yes, there's something more. Elizabeth's real father is out of jail and he's been wanting custody of her."

I gasped. "James Andrew Stuartson, right?" She nodded silently. "He's been on the news lately. I thought he was supposed to be in jail for a couple more years?"

"He is. He escaped," Bella said. "Now he wants me dead for sending him to jail. He stole the custody papers and sent that letter a couple months ago. Well, actually, that was his brother; the one who I think helped him escape from jail."

I put a hand to my mouth. "And you're positive that James and Philip kidnapped Elizabeth?"

Bella only nodded, as the tea kettle began whistling.

00

Carlisle and Edward returned a few hours later, saying that they weren't able to find her.

When I returned home with Carlisle a half hour later, I sat on the couch in the living room. Carlisle sat down next to me and pulled me against his chest, wrapping his arms around me.

"So no luck finding Lizzy, huh?" I asked quietly.

"No luck. We have no idea where she could have been taken," Carlisle said.

"I sure hope we find her, Carlisle. Life's not…really the same without her," I said. "Edward and Bella – Bella especially – will never be the same if Elizabeth is not okay."

And we sat there in silence.

It was the middle of the night when I woke up. Carlisle was snoring gently on the bed next to me.

Yawning, I glanced at the alarm clock, which read 12:22 a.m. I carefully got out of bed so as not to wake Carlisle and pulled my bathrobe on over my pajamas. I wandered out of the bedroom and downstairs to the kitchen to get a glass of water.

Just as I was filling a glass up with water, I heard a knock come at the front door.

I turned the faucet off and placed the glass of water on the counter beside the sink. Who in the _world_ was here at half past midnight?

I turned the porch light on just as the doorbell rang. Quickly, I opened the door and, standing on the porch, looking absolutely frozen and almost soaking wet from the rain, was Elizabeth.

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**Author's Note: **

**So, I hope everybody liked the chapter. Aren't you glad that I didn't kill off Elizabeth? Don't worry...you'll find out how she esaped next chapter. **

**Sorry for the delay in updating. School, life, things in general took over (though school doesn't really take me that long to do, I just have severe writers block). Anyway, remember to reveiw on your way out, and please don't kill me with pitchforks or ninjas or samurais, k?**

**Until Next Time: NerdyGuRu2**


	33. Safe in My Arms

**Disclaimer: I do not own Twilight, I just own baby Nathan, and Philip.**

**Author's note: Happy Thanksgiving! I'm back again. Sorry for not updating for like almost a month, but I've been kind of busy and I was really busy this past weekend because of my birthday and such. Did anyone see the movie? I absolutely LOVED it. I saw it three times. I saw it with my friends the day it came out, then saw it the next afternoon with one of my friends again, and then I saw it the next day with my dad on my birthday. And I'm still in love with that movie. **

**Anyway, enough rambling. Thanks for all the reviews for last chapter, and I hope you like this chapter. **

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Chapter Thirty-one: Safe in My Arms

(EsPOV)

"Lizzy!" I said, squatting down and gathering her up in my arms as she ran to me. "Oh, Lizzy, we were so worried! Are you alright?" I asked as I pulled back. "Are you hurt?"

Elizabeth shook her head, shivering.

"You must be freezing. Let's go get you all nice and dry, alright?" I said, standing up and offering my hand toward her. She nodded, taking hold of my hand.

I led her into the living room. I grabbed the blanket from the couch and wrapped her in it, not caring that she was soaking wet. I sat her down on the couch and I sat down in front of her on the coffee table, rubbing my hands up and down her arms to warm her up.

There were footsteps then, and Carlisle appeared around the edge of the doorframe. "Esme, darling, who in heavens name is call--." He broke off as soon as he spotted Elizabeth on the couch. "Elizabeth!"

He walked across the living room and sat down next to me on the coffee table, pulling Elizabeth – who was still shivering – into his arms and holding her close for a second. Then he pulled back and placed her again on the couch. "Are you alright? Are you hurt?" he asked, asking the same questions I had asked her a moment earlier.

Once again, Elizabeth shook her head, shivering and pointing to her throat repeatedly.

Carlisle and I looked at each other and then I got up and sat down next to her. "Does your throat hurt, sweetie?" She nodded, looking up at me with her big chocolate brown eyes – Bella's eyes. I placed my hand on her forehead and gasped a split second later.

"You're burning up," I said.

Elizabeth shook her head. "I'm freezing and my stomach itches," she whispered. She pulled up her wet shirt and pointed to the tiny red spots on her stomach.

Carlisle and I looked at each other again. "Let me go get my bag," Carlisle said, getting up from the coffee table. "Esme, find some dry clothes for her and try to get her warm." I nodded and gently led Elizabeth out of the living room and upstairs after Carlisle to find some dry clothes.

As I was helping Elizabeth change out of her wet clothes and into the dry pajamas that she had at the house – soft, light pink pajama pants and a blue t-shirt – I noticed a rather large and deep gash on her right knee. It was still bleeding heavily, so I quickly grabbed a washcloth, wet it in the bathroom sink, and held it against Elizabeth's knee.

I called out Carlisle's name and a moment later, he appeared in the bathroom doorway.

"Come look at this gash on her knee," I said.

Carlisle inspected her knee carefully, and said, "It looks like a switchblade cut. It looks exactly like the one that was on Bella's leg when she was attacked. Esme, I think we'll have to take Elizabeth in to the hospital. We can clean the wound there and we can get some antibiotics to help bring down her fever."

"My head feels dizzy," Elizabeth said, and a split second later, she went unconscious, falling limply forward into my arms.

"She's losing a lot of blood from the gash in her knee. We need to take her to the hospital. Now," Carlisle said, his serious doctor-grandfather tone appearing in his voice.

Ten minutes later, after changing into some clothes and wrapping Elizabeth in a blanket, we got in Carlisle's Mercedes and started for the hospital. As Carlisle drove, I pulled out my cell phone from my pocket and dialed Edward and Bella's home phone.

After five rings, Edward answered. "Hello?"

"Edward, hey, it's Esme," I said.

"Mom, it's one o' clock, is everything alright?" he asked.

"Elizabeth showed up at our place a half hour ago," I said.

"What? Is she alright? Is she hurt?" he asked. In the background, I heard Bella ask Edward, "Is everything okay?"

"Elizabeth is fine," I said. "She has a gash on her right knee and is losing a lot of blood. Your father and I are taking her to the hospital now. You can meet us there," I said.

On the other line, I heard Edward sigh with relief, say, "We'll meet you there," and there was a click on the other end.

(BPOV)

As Edward pushed the off button on the phone, he hastily got off the bed (we had fallen asleep on top of the covers with the clothes we had been wearing the day before still on).

"Edward? What happened?" I asked as I gently pushed Gizmo down to the end of the bed.

"Elizabeth showed up at my parent's place. They're taking her to the hospital," he said as he pulled on some socks.

My heart began to pound as I asked, "The hospital? Is she alright?"

"She has a large gash on her right knee, and she losing a lot of blood. Come on, let's go."

Fifteen minutes later, thanks to Edward's fast driving – which I didn't mind this time, as I wanted to get to my daughter as soon as possible – we pulled into the hospital parking lot, and, after spotting it, pulled in next to Carlisle's Mercedes. We raced inside, where Esme was waiting in the lobby.

"Mom, is she alright?" Edward asked as we approached her. She nodded. "She's alright. She just has a gash on her knee, and she has a fever, but she'll be alright."

"Can we go see her?" I asked.

Esme nodded. "Come on."

She led us down the hallway and to an elevator. We rode up to the second floor, where she led us down another hallway to room 105.

Carlisle was in the room, along with a nurse, who was attaching an IV to her arm. Elizabeth was lying in the hospital bed, in a pair of her pajamas. She looked worn out and tired, but at the same time, warm and dry.

"How is she?" I asked as we walked over to Elizabeth's bedside. "Is she going to be alright?"

"She'll be perfectly fine. She has a gash on her right knee that I believe is from a switchblade, and it looks like she's developed a slight case of the chicken pox. When she wakes up, we'll take a throat culture, because she was complaining of a sore throat earlier," Carlisle explained.

"How did she escape?" Edward asked.

Esme and Carlisle shrugged. "She didn't say anything. We don't know how far she traveled. But by the time she did get to our house, she was absolutely soaked," replied Esme. "So she must have traveled a ways."

There was a moan from the bed and then coughing. All of us looked at Elizabeth, whose eyes were fluttering open. She looked around, and then spotted us surrounding her bed. "Mommy..?" she asked in a low and raspy voice.

"I'm here, baby," I said softly, brushing the hair away from her face, which was burning under my skin.

"My throat hurts," she said, and coughed some more. "Why am I in a hospital?" she asked curiously.

"You fell unconscious, sweetie, so we brought you here," Esme answered. "Do you remember anything? Anything at all?"

"Uh…I was in this room in this strange, unfamiliar place and there were these two guys who were talking about killing me. They aren't going to kill me are they, mommy?" Elizabeth asked, looking up at me with her big, round chocolate brown eyes.

I suppressed a wince and shook my head. "Those two men aren't _ever_ going to come after you ever again," I said, sitting down on the edge of the bed and pulling my daughter close to me.

Edward quietly excused himself to go call Charlie, and Esme went with him. Carlisle took a small pocket flashlight out of the pocket in his doctor's coat and grabbed a tongue depressor.

"Okay, can you say 'ahh' for me?" he asked. Elizabeth did as he said and Carlisle looked down her throat with the flashlight.

"Hmm. Well, Elizabeth, I see some white spots in your throat. I'm going to do a throat culture on your throat to see if you've got strep throat," he said.

Elizabeth grimaced. She remembered the throat culture from when she was four, the last time she had strep throat. "I hate those things."

Carlisle laughed and ruffled the top of her head. He took the throat culture stick from the nurse, who was standing behind him, and said, "Okay, say 'ahh' again for me." Elizabeth gagged as the stick went to the back of her throat, but stayed still, and then began coughing again as Carlisle pulled the stick back out and handed it to the nurse.

After the nurse left the room to take the throat culture to the lab, Carlisle grabbed a thermometer from the counter in the room and stuck the thermometer underneath Elizabeth's tongue.

When it beeped couple moments later, Carlisle looked at the number and said, "Congratulations, Elizabeth, you have obtained a fever of 103.5."

"Is that why I'm so cold?" she asked.

I laughed softly and said, "Yes, sweetie. That's probably why." I rubbed my hand up and down her arm to warm her up.

"Mommy, when can I go home?" she asked, looking at me.

"I believe that you should be able to go home tomorrow…or rather today, seeing as it almost quarter of 2 in the morning," Carlisle said. "You should be able to get the results of the throat culture later today." I nodded.

Elizabeth yawned and leaned her head against my shoulder.

00

A police officer arrived at the hospital twenty minutes after Edward left to call Charlie. The officer explained that Charlie was called out on the field, and that he would be notified as soon as he got back to the station.

"Do you mind if I asked you a few questions?" he asked Elizabeth, who looked shyly up at him.

She shook her head quickly and wrapped her arms around my arm.

The officer – whose name was Jordan – smiled and took a small flip notebook and a pen from his jacket pocket. "Alright. Do you remember what the men who took you looked like?"

Elizabeth thought a moment and then said, "Not really, but they had dull green eyes and brown hair. And one of them had a sharp knife and stabbed me in the leg."

Again, I suppressed a wince. Images of James stabbing a knife into my daughter's leg made tingles go down my spine, and Edward grasped my hand tighter.

"Do you know where these men took you?" Jordan asked.

She shook her head. "I don't know where it was, but I know that it was in this placed called a motel that looked kind of run down. I walked for a long time and saw up ahead of me my grandparent's house."

"Did you pass through Forks?" asked the officer.

She shook her head again. "I walked through several trees."

"How did you escape?"

"I was locked in a bathroom and there was a window above the toilet and I was able to reach it. I opened it and climbed through it and managed to get away, even though I felt awful and I itched all over and my head really hurt. I waited until they fell asleep," she said. "Are they going to come after me, Mister Officer?"

"They're not going to be going after anybody ever again," Jordan said. He pulled two photos out of his pocket and showed them to her. "Are these the two guys who kidnapped you?"

She looked at them and nodded. She pointed to the one of Philip and said, "That's the one me, mommy, and Uncle Jasper saw at the amusement park."

"Do you confirm this?" the officer asked, showing the two pictures to me.

I held back yet another wince as I looked into the pictures of James and his brother. I nodded and said quietly, "Yes."

The officer sighed with relief. "We've been searching for these two nutcases for the past several months. I'll send out a search warrant for all the motels within a thirty mile radius immediately. Arizona will be mighty glad to have those two back in their custody. I'll let the station know that Elizabeth Cullen has been found. We'll contact you if we find out anything. Good night."

"Thanks," Edward said as the officer shook his hand and my hand, and then offered his hand to Elizabeth, who just looked up at him shyly for a few seconds before shaking his hand slowly.

After the police officer left a moment later, Carlisle said, "Alright, little lady, you should be able to go home within the next few hours, if you two want to stay until she's released and bring her home then?" He turned to where Edward and I were standing next to Elizabeth's bed.

"Alright," Edward said, nodding.

Before leaving the room, Carlisle said, "I would recommend that Elizabeth stay home from school for a bit."

We nodded. We were definitely going to not let her out of our sight at all.

A few minutes later, Edward and I were alone in the room with Elizabeth. I sat down again on the bed and pulled Elizabeth close to me, while Edward sat down in the chair next to the bed.

"Can I go to sleep now?" Elizabeth asked sleepily, looking up at me.

I smiled, and nodded. Elizabeth yawned then and fell asleep, safe in my arms once again.

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**Author's Note:**

**So..what did everybody think? Aren't you glad I didn't kill of Elizabeth? My friend was trying to convince me that a six year old wouldn't be able to escape from two strong men is she had the chicken pox and potential strep throat. I ignored her after a while. Anyway, review please, and I might update before Thanksgiving. I highly doubt it, but there's always a possibility. **

**The story is coming to an end soon here, maybe about one or two more chapters and then an epilogue (tear, tear). I want to try to get this story finished before Thanksgiving break ends. I wanted to update the last chapter on my birthday, which was Sunday, but obviously, that didn't happen. Next Chapter: The chapter we've all been waiting for. Hahahahaha!! **

**Until Next Time: NerdyGuRu2**

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_**NEXT CHAPTER:**_

As the cell door slammed shut, Philip piped up and said, "I told you we would get caught."

I growled and threw the pillow from the bed at him. "Shut up, Philip. Just shut up."


	34. Truly Thankful

**Disclaimer: **I do not own Twilight.

**Author's Note: I extremely sorry for the delay of this next chapter. I had massive writer's block for this chapter, and I wanted to get it out as soon as I could. I've been busy with stuff and I didn't really have time to write. I plan to finish this story before Christmas, and I want to make it as good as possible. **

**Hope you enjoy the chapter! **

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Chapter Thirty-two: Truly Thankful

(CharPOV)

By six in the morning, half of the police officers sent out to find James and Philip were about to give up. We had searched every motel within a 30 mile radius, we hadn't gotten anything, and we were just about ready to give in to the thought that maybe James and Philip had boarded a plane back to Arizona.

I hadn't given up.

I was dead set on finding my granddaughter's kidnappers and making sure that they never saw the light of day again. What they had done to Bella – and my granddaughter – in the past several months was unacceptable, and I wanted to make sure that they got what they deserved for what they had done. I mean, if I was granted the ability, I would shoot both of them in the head, but, seeing as that was against the law even with me being the chief of police, that was sadly out of the question.

"Are we ready to call it quits, Chief?"

I looked over at the officer I had been paired with, and shook my head. "We're going to find these creeps and make sure they get what they deserve."

"Are we on some kind of race to find them first?" Larry asked.

I sighed. "No. These guys kidnapped my granddaughter and have been bothering my daughter."

"Oh, the little girl that was kidnapped was your granddaughter?" Larry asked. I nodded. "Oh. Well, then I guess I understand why you want to catch these creeps. Let's check this one, Charlie. The little girl said that the motel looked run down from what she could tell."

I pulled the squad car into the parking lot of _Gordon's Motel_ and parked it in front of the main building. We got out and went inside. There was a man who looked to be about in his mid-fifties sitting behind the counter, and he looked up when we came through the door.

"Good morning, officers. Looking for a room?" he asked as we approached the front desk.

"We're looking for two guys who might have checked into a room a couple months ago," Larry said, pulling the pictures of James and Philip from the pocket it his jacket and handing them to the man. "Their names are James and Philip Stuartson and they're wanted for kidnapping and numerous other things. Do you recognize them?"

The man put on some spectacles and looked at the pictures. "I don't know about their names, but they sure do look like the two gents who checked into room 6 a couple months or so ago. They said their names were Henri and Jacques Bonbourki, and they had extremely bad French accents."

"Are you sure these are the guys?" I asked.

The man nodded. "I'm sure. I'm darn sure that those are the guys." He handed the pictures back to Larry and asked, "I'm, uh, not in any kind of trouble for letting two felons stay at my motel, am I?"

"No, sir, you're not. Now which room did you say they were in?" I asked.

"Room 6," the man said.

"Thank you," I said.

_A couple hours earlier…_

(EPOV)

Bella and I were eternally grateful that Elizabeth had come back safely to us – unharmed, with the exception of the gash on her knee.

Soon after Elizabeth had fallen asleep in the hospital bed, I pulled my chair up next to Bella's next to the bed, and wrapped my arm around Bella's shoulder. She laid her head on my shoulder, and I didn't need to look at her face to know that she was crying. I held her close to me as she continued to hold Elizabeth's hand. I kissed the top of her hair and silently let her know that Elizabeth was safe again.

No words could describe how eternally grateful and glad we were to see her in solid form, even in unconsciousness.

"She's going to be fine. She's going to be fine," I whispered into Bella's hair and hugged her tighter.

With her shoulders shaking from crying, she nodded and choked out in a wavering and watery voice, "I know. I'm just so glad she's alright."

00

Elizabeth was released from the hospital two hours later at 4 in the morning. We brought her into her bedroom back at home and just sat on the floor next to her bed, watching her while she slept. Bella was brushing Elizabeth's hair back from her face gently.

I took hold of her hand and she looked at me. I smiled gently at her and she gave a small smile back. I motioned my head toward Elizabeth's bedroom door, silently telling her that we should probably go to bed. She looked at Elizabeth sleeping on the bed one last time before giving a short, reluctant sigh and nodding.

I helped her up from the floor and led her out of the bedroom.

We collapsed onto our bed, too tired to change out of our clothes.

There a sudden meow and something furry and orange jumped onto the bed with us. It was the kitten. Bella chuckled quietly and pulled it up to us.

"You know, you never really did tell me why there's a cat here," I said.

"He followed me home from the mailbox down the street yesterday afternoon. Alice and I gave him a bath – which was how we discovered that he _does not_ like water at all – and Alice sort of wheedled me into letting him stay here. He looked like he was a stray," she said, rubbing his head. "Alice named him Gizmo."

"Gizmo, huh?" I asked, rubbing Gizmo's head as well.

"Uh-huh," Bella murmured sleepily. "Gizmo. Weird name, right?"

I laughed quietly. "Welcome to the family, Gizmo," I said, and Gizmo purred affectionately as he rubbed his head against my chest.

Bella laughed tiredly, and when I looked over at her the next second, she was fast asleep. I kissed her forehead and closed my eyes as well, falling asleep a moment later.

(JamPOV)

A few hours after our hotel room got barged into, Philip and I were being led to a jail cell by the same two police officers that had barged into our room.

"You don't know just exactly how glad I am to see you two in custody," said the police officer who was leading me by the arms which were in a very uncomfortable position.

"Yeah, well, that little good for nothing woman who calls herself a mother deserved it," I spit out.

At my comment, I was jerked and I saw the police officer's face turn fierce with anger. "That 'good for nothing woman' is my daughter, and that little girl who you kidnapped was my granddaughter. So you'd better watch what you're saying about them, otherwise I'm going to make sure that you and your brother over there _never_ see the light of day again," he said.

With that, Philip and I were put in the cell.

As the cell door slammed shut, Philip piped up and said, "I told you we would get caught."

I growled and threw the pillow from the bed at him. "Shut up, Philip. Just shut up."

(BPOV)

It was about ten o'clock when Edward and I woke up and were in the kitchen, making ourselves something to eat, since we hadn't eaten anything since lunchtime the day before, and the baby was practically demanding me to give him food.

Just as I was spreading the mayonnaise on my turkey, roast beef, cheese and jelly sandwich (to which Edward had looked at me funny as I was making it), the phone rang and Edward picked it up.

"Hello...oh, hey, Charlie…yeah, she'll be fine…yes, we're all grateful…you did?"

I set down the knife I was spreading the mayonnaise with and raised my eyebrows at Edward in question.

"Really? Where?...uh-huh…. Alright, I'll tell her that…alright, thanks for calling Charlie…. Bye." Edward hung up the phone on the wall again and pulled me against his chest, wrapping his arms me as I wrapped mine around him.

"So what was Charlie calling for?" I asked.

"They got them. They had been hiding at a motel halfway between here in Forks and Port Angeles," he answered. "It was rundown, just like Elizabeth said."

I closed my eyes and leaned my head against his chest, breathing a sigh of relief.

"They're going to send them back to Arizona, and put them a strongly guarded prison facility for the rest of their lives, with no chance of a trial. They're probably the most wanted criminals in America right now," he added.

"They deserve to be the most wanted criminals in America," I said, bitterness towards James and Philip entering my voice.

Edward chuckled – without humor – in agreement. "They won't be coming after us any longer – not you, not me, not Elizabeth, not even the baby."

I didn't realize until then that tears had been flowing down my cheeks.

James and Philip were no longer a danger and a threat to us. They weren't going to bother us any longer – and I was happy about that.

I knew that it would take a while for us to get over the feeling of insecurity, but I knew, too, that the day would come when we would be able to live happy and normal lives again, with the knowledge that James and Philip were locked up in a strongly guarded prison facility for the rest of their lives.

All of us were safe. We had lived through the several months of pure torture that had come upon us.

And I was thankful for that.

Truly thankful.

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**Author's Note: **

**Once again, I apologize for the delay. But - the good news is that James and Philip got arrested and are not going to be bothering Edward or Bella or Elizabeth ever again. You can all let out that breath you've been holding in (I know you have been). **

**Sadly, I think that this is the last chapter of this story. There will be an epiloque, however, so this story isn't over yet. Even though I have thoroughly enjoyed writing this story, it has sadly finally come to its end. I need to focus on my other stories and school (school hasn't really been getting along real well with me this year, but only in English and Geometry and Italian). **

**Anyway, read and review and I hope you all enjoyed it (even if it was the last chapter besides the epilogue). The epilogue will be up before Christmas, as a Christmas present to you all for being so faithful to this story. Until Next Time: NerdyGuRu2**


	35. Epilogue

**Disclaimer: **I do not own Twilight.

**Author's Note: Well, here it is... the epilogue. I stayed up until half past one this morning writing it out on paper, because that's just how much I love you guys. And now...it's the end. **

**I want to thanl all of my readers that I've had since the beginning of Hard Descisions. You guys have been great from the beginning, and you've all encouraged me to keep writing and finish the story. This story has recieved A TON of hits since it began, and a lot of favorites and alerts as well, and I owe it all to you guys! THANKS!**

**Enjoy the epilogue!**

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Epilogue

(BPOV)

Much to everyone's relief, James and Philip never bothered us again. We let it pass as just a thing of the past, and Edward and I made an agreement to put it behind us and never talk about it again. Elizabeth still didn't know Edward wasn't her real father, and we agreed that we wouldn't tell her about her real father until she was eighteen, when she was old enough to understand.

After she got over the chicken pox and strep throat and was allowed to go back to school, Edward and I noticed that Elizabeth was a whole lot more shy than she had been in earlier months. Though she still talked to people that she knew and trusted, she was quiet around people she didn't know.

I was worried about this, but Carlisle and Edward reassured me that it was normal, and that she would be alright if we just gave her a little space for a bit.

The months faded past quickly with smoothness.

Thanksgiving and Christmas passed with happiness and warmth, and with the beginning of the new year came Jasper and Alice's wedding. The wedding was beautiful, and it passed without a hitch, much to Alice's relief. As the months passed, my stomach grew bigger, and by February, my eighth month, I was about as big as I had been at eight months with Elizabeth.

Everyone was anxiously awaiting the arrival of little Nathan. Alice – of course – and all the women in the family kept on wheedling me and Edward for the name of the baby, which of course we wouldn't reveal. Elizabeth wanted to tell everybody the name of her little brother, but Edward and I explained to her that the name of her baby brother was a secret and no one could know until he was born.

Edward and I – with, of course, the help of Alice – got the new nursery for Nathan ready, painting the walls of it light blue with a wall bordering with stuffed animals on it. We decorated the room with a stuffed animal theme, seeing that it was a cute idea that went along with the border.

In the middle of January, Alice threw me a baby shower, much to my horror, but I managed to get through it, and by the time it was done, I was glad to just lie down and fall asleep.

At the beginning of February, I was ordered by Carlisle to keep off my feet, and stay sitting down upstairs in the apartment. At this, Edward jumped at the chance of convincing me to get someone to help downstairs in the bookshop. The next day, Esme showed up, half self-hired, half hired by Edward and Carlisle to help around the apartment and the bookshop.

I was a little ticked off for a bit (only because of my raging hormones), but I tried not to show it.

Though the baby wasn't due until the beginning of March, by the end of January I was all too ready for him to be born.

I just…didn't know how quickly he was going to come….

00

At the end of the second week in February, Edward went with Jasper and Emmett to somewhere in Washington a few hours away for three days for an all boys weekend. This left me, stuck at home on my butt, with Alice – who was staying with me while Edward was away – to keep me company and look after me.

On Friday afternoon – the day after the boys left – I was on the couch (where I had been for the last two weeks) with Alice and Elizabeth. We were watching a movie and eating popcorn. I could tell a storm was coming because whenever a huge storm was coming (any type of storm), my shoulder acted up and hurt like crazy. Right then, my shoulder hurt like crazy, and that made me a little nervous.

All day my back had been hurting, and it was making me a bit uncomfortable. Throughout the movie, I tried as best I could to get into a comfortable position, without much luck. It was also getting a bit warm.

Alice kept glancing at me throughout the entire movie, shooting me concerned looks.

Halfway through the movie, a sharp pain went my midsection, and Nathan kicked repeatedly in response. I rubbed the top of my extended belly to calm him down, and I let out the breath I'd been holding in when the pain went away fifteen seconds later.

Oh, no, no no, no, no. This wasn't happening now. It couldn't.

Alice leaned over and asked quietly, "Are you okay?"

I quickly nodded my head. "I'm good.

The sharp pains happened throughout the rest of the afternoon, and by the time it hit 6:30 in the evening, I knew that it was happening – the contractions were getting sharper and were now lasting for thirty seconds each, each being twenty minutes apart.

And then, at quarter past seven, just as I was about to leave the bathroom, a warm and wet substance went down my legs, soaking my jeans.

It was time. Four weeks early. Oh, no.

"Uh, Alice?" I called out, my voice wavering a bit. I knew that she was hovering outside near the bathroom.

"Yes? Are you alright?" she answered back. "Can I come in?"

"Yeah," I said, placing my hands on my stomach where Nathan was kicking.

Alice poked her head around the doorframe. "Bella?" She looked me up and down, no doubt looking for any sort of injuries. "Why are your pants soaking?"

I swallowed and smiled nervously at her. "My water broke."

Alice's eyes widened. "You're not due until March!"

"I know, I know. I've been having contractions all afternoon, and now, my water just broke," I said. "He's too early! He's not supposed to come for another four weeks."

Alice laughed and said, "Well, I think your kids like to be born early. Come on, we have to get you to the hospital."

She led me carefully out of the bathroom and back to the living room. Elizabeth jumped up from the couch as soon as she saw us. "Mommy, are you okay?" she asked, following us to the kitchen where Alice helped me sit in a chair at the table.

"Yes, sweetie, mommy's fine. Your brother's just deciding to come a little early," I said, wincing as a contraction passed through.

"Lizzy, why don't you go put on your shoes and your coat? We're going to take your mother to the hospital," Alice said, handing her coat and shoes to her.

"Okay," she said and sat down on the floor to put on her shoes.

Within the next five minutes, we were all in the car, heading to the hospital. The weather was turning bad, because of the oncoming storm, and I was worried about Edward.

Alice snapped her phone shut. "He's not answering his phone. Either there's no reception wherever he is, or his phone is turned off."

We reached the hospital fifteen minutes later; because of the mixture of sleet and freezing rain and snow, we weren't able to see a foot in front of the car. With the next twelve minutes, Alice had helped me change into a gown and into the bed. A contraction hit five seconds later and I sucked n my breath and held it, squeezing my eyes shut.

As soon as I could speak, I said to Alice, "Call Edward."

She nodded. "Okay. I'll call Esme and Rosalie. Carlisle should be here in a moment. Are you okay here by yourself?"

"Well, besides the fact there's a nurse in here hooking me up to different machines, yeah I'll be fine, Alice," I said.

"Okay. I'll be back in a few minutes. Come on, Elizabeth," Alice said, extending her hand to Elizabeth, who hopped off the chair she was sitting on and took her hand.

Carlisle came in the room a couple moments later. "Bella, how are you doing?"

"Just peachy. I feel like every other woman on this floor who's having a baby, and it feels just _wonderful_." Sarcasm was beginning to seep into my voice. All I wanted was for Edward to be there.

Carlisle chuckled, ignoring my sarcasm, "Well, let's see how far along you are."

A couple moments later, he announced that I was about 2 centimeters dilated, and it would probably be a long night. "Let's just hope that Edward gets here before your son does," he added before patting me on the shoulder reassuringly and leaving the room.

Twenty minutes later, Alice still couldn't get a hold of Edward, nor Jasper or Emmett, all of whom she had left several messages on each of their phones. Esme and Rosalie and Angie arrived soon after Alice called them. After stopping at my room for a few minutes to see how I was doing, Esme and Rosalie went out to the waiting area with Elizabeth.

Two hours later, Alice was in the room with me when her phone rang. It turned out to be Edward. He got the thirteen messages Alice left on his voicemail, and he said that they were trying to get home to Forks as quickly as possible with the storm, which was still raging outside the hospital.

As she shut her phone, Alice squeezed my hand reassuringly and said, "He knows that you're in labor, and he and the guys are trying to get home as soon as possible."

Six hours into labor, I was still only 3.5 centimeters, and Edward still wasn't there.

"Where the heck is Edward?" I moaned as another contraction ended. I was in my seventh hour of labor and the contractions were getting stronger. I was 5 centimeters dilated – halfway to where I could start delivering.

It was one in the morning, and I was getting exhausted, but I knew I couldn't quit yet and fall asleep.

Alice, who was in the room at that moment, smiled sympathetically at me and handed me another ice chip. "He'll be here soon. You're doing great."

Around quarter to two, Edward still wasn't there. But the upside news was that Carlisle announced that I was ten centimeters dilated, and the baby was in position.

As the nurses were getting ready to move me to the delivery room, I heard hurried footsteps coming nearer and nearer to my room. Two split seconds later, Edward burst into the room, pale and anxious looking.

"Edward!" I said as he came across the room and captured my lips with his. "The baby's coming."

"I know. Oh, I'm so sorry I left," he said, kissing my sweaty forehead.

"Alright, we're ready," said one of the nurses. "Let's go."

Alice hugged me tightly and kissed my cheek. "Good luck," she said with a large grin on her face.

Within the next minute, I was being wheeled down the hallway to the delivery room by Carlisle and two nurses, Edward hurrying alongside me.

Once in the delivery room, and once Carlisle had taken his position at the end of the bed, Carlisle said, "Alright, Bella, on the next contraction, I want you to push as hard as you can."

I nodded and looked up at Edward. "Ready?" I asked.

He grinned and nodded, kissing the top of my head. "Let's do this."

00

Thirty minutes later, the sound of a newborn's wail filled the delivery room, and I let an exhausted smile part my lips as tears of happiness flooded down my cheeks, mixing with the sweat. I looked at Edward, and he had a grin on his face as he looked down at me and kissed my lips.

"Congratulations, it's a boy," Carlisle said as he walked over to us a moment later. He placed the wailing newborn he was holding in my arms.

Little Nathan was tiny and all red and still a little bloody, but he was so beautiful, so precious. He even had a thin layer of hair, which I could tell looked brown.

"Excuse me, I need the name for the birth certificate," said the nurse.

"Nathan. Nathan Isaiah Cullen," Edward said.

"What's the verdict, Carlisle?" I asked.

Carlisle smiled and replied, "Well, Nathan Isaiah was born on February 13, at 2:22 a.m., and he weighs 5 pounds 4 ounces, and he is 13 inches long."

I smiled and looked down at the red-faced baby in my arms.

Welcome to the family, my little Nathan Isaiah Cullen.

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**Author's Note:**

**Say it with me --- AW!**

**It's OVER! - cries -. I hope you have enjoyed this story. This story is now officially over. I'm not planning on making this a threequel, but you never know - I might change my mind in the far future. But keep a look out for one (don't count on finding one, though). BUT, if I did make this a threequel, I would probably write when school lets out for the year and I have more time to write it (I just might do that, because I love little Nathan and Elizabeth!).**

**Once again, THANKS SO MUCH for your support! I really appreciate it! Merry Christmas! See you next story!**

**Signing off permanently for this story:**

**NerdyGuRu2**

**P.S. - I'm not going to stop writing, so look for **_**Grandma Rose**_** within the next two weeks. It's a story I started earlier this year, but I had to delete it because I couldn't find time to write it. But I'm redoing it now, now that I have finished this story. See you then!**


	36. THREEQUEL ALERT! AUTHOR'S NOTE!

**I'M POSTING THIS ON BOTH HARD DESCISION'S AND DECISION'S FATE**

**Dear Readers:**

**For those of you who have read Hard Descision's and Decision's Fate and loved them, I am not stopping writing about Bella and Edward, the Cullen's, little Elizabeth, and baby Nathan. **

**After much debate and throwing around ideas around in my head, I am going to be writing a threequel to the afore-mentioned stories. The lives of Bella, Edward, the Cullens, Elizabeth, and baby Nathan are not over, and I know that you all have been wanting me to write more about their lives. **

**This story will be called 'Life's New Step', set 16 years into the future. And I promise that this story will be happy. I think that after all Edward and Bella (Bella especially) went through in Decision's Fate, they deserve a little happiness. I might be throwing in a little - I repeat a little - drama, but for 95 percent (give or take) of the story, there will be happiness. **

**So, go check out my profile (Oh, by the way, I changed my pen name from NerdyGuRu2 to Lemonade Ninja) for the summary and more information about my writing status, and hopefully this story will be up and posted within the next day or two. **

**See you then!**

**Lemonade Ninja**

**P.S. - Put me on Author's Alert if you haven't already! **


	37. THREEQUEL POSTED!

**ANNOUNCEMENT:**

**Dear Readers:**

**The long awaited threequel to Hard Descisions and Decision's Fate is now posted. It is called 'Life's New Step'. So, go ahead and read it. You can find it in my profile!**

**See you over there, Lemonade Ninja.**


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